


Playing Normal

by SoFoXD



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, teen wolf crossover, teen wolf the vampire diaries crossover, teen wolf/the vampire diaries, the vampire diaries crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2018-03-07
Packaged: 2018-12-03 22:03:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 61,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11541327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoFoXD/pseuds/SoFoXD
Summary: Hannah Gilbert has been through more than she wanted in Mystic Falls. After the death of  her brother and the loss of her sister's humanity she feels more alone than ever. Her so called friends don't seem to be there when she needs them, not any of them. She figures that the only way for her to be happy again is to leave and start living a normal life. Her plan would have worked out perfectly, if the town she had chosen to move to hadn't been Beacon Hills.Set during season 3A of Teen Wolf and season 4 of Vampire diaries.





	1. Leaving Mystic Falls

The forest was a little bit chilly, the wind blowing harder than I had anticipated it to. Fall had finally come to Mystic Falls, and as the leaves started to wither and fall so had my life. I was at a low point in my life and I could think of a single moment where I had felt any worse. Even when my parents had died I had still had something to cling onto, I had still had something. The difference between then and now was that I was that I was both miserable and alone. Sure, there were people there around me but none of them seemed that concerned about me. Not even the people I considered family.

Family. Just thinking the word made it hard to breath. Something I had taken for granted before my parents died, and then valued more than anything. Now I didn't have it anymore. I didn't have a brother and I didn't even know how much of my sister was left. They had been the only people left who truly cared about me. The only people who, apparently, would have noticed my slow demise. 

The haunting thoughts of my misery had been occupying my thoughts for a while, even before I lost everything. They were so loud and impossible to ignore, they were screaming. Nothing could silence them for long enough. I had nothing that made me feel relaxed or safe anymore. I didn't even have my own home. Had things happened slower I might have been able to not break down, but I wasn't sure about that either. Maybe I just wasn't cut out for this type of life.

All of these thoughts had finally led me to make a decision. As I had wandered the streets of Mystic Falls, acting as if I was holding things together, I had realized what I needed. The second the thought had hit me I had been convinced that this was it, this was what would make me heal. I needed to go back to normal, cut out all things supernatural in my life. That wouldn't be possible in Mystic Falls. 

This epiphany had been my solution but I wasn't obvious to the fact that it would come with problems of it's own. For one, I could only think of one person who would even let me move out of Mystic Falls at a time like this. Matt. Being the only other human in our group he actually encouraged me to leave. I didn't even need to ask my other friends to know that they didn't share that sentiment. Still, I had to tell them. I couldn't just leave in the middle of the night, even though that idea was very tempting. 

"Caroline, I have something to tell you", I sighed as I finally gathered enough courage to break the news. Even still, my hands were shaking slightly and I felt the need to start pacing back and forth in front of her. I didn't give in, but I put my hands in the pockets of my coat as a way to still them. It kind of worked, but not really. 

By the look on Caroline's face she was worried about what I would say. I wasn't that surprised, to be honest. We were in the middle of a crisis and the next words coming out of my mouth could mean all types of danger. That realization made me think that she might take the news better since they didn't mean chaos. 

"What is it?", she wondered, keeping her eyes focused on me. I was certain now that she wouldn't freak. How could she when she had so much else to worry about? So many things that were way worse than me moving! 

"I know that you probably won't like this, but please don't fight me on this. I've decided that I'm moving away from Mystic Falls for a while. I don't know how long but I can't stay here", I explained calmly and it wasn't until I had stopped talking that I saw how wrong I had been. Caroline's face was covered in shock, confusion, worry and slight anger. It was that last part that prepared me for her blow up. Although, there wasn't many ways I could prepare. 

"No, you're not! Hannah, you are just a child and you cannot make those types of decisions on your own. Even if you were an adult, this isn't just a decision you make on your own. You talk to us, your friends, and then we help you. We can't just let you leave town all on your own." You fought the need to groan in frustration. Of course she didn't want me to leave. Caroline, like all the others in town, saw me as just a little girl. At the same time I was supposed to be grown enough to handle everything that had just been forced upon me. I couldn't protect myself, but that didn't mean that I couldn't be there for the danger. It was faulty logic and I just hoped that I could make Caroline realize that.

"You're right, Caroline. I am just a child, an orphan. I have seen things that a child should not see and anyone would agree with me on that. To top that of, I have anyone left that cares enough to see that I am not alright! I have no one who sits down and comforts me when I feel so lost because I have lost everything in my life. So excuse me, but this isn't just a haste decision. This isn't me being an irresponsible child, it's exact opposite." I hadn't been able to help but grow angry at the end of my rant. It was mostly because I was hurt. Not even Caroline, who I had known almost my whole life had bothered to even talk to me after the Elena had burned down our home. It really stung. 

"Hannah, all of us have lost things and none of us asked for this. You don't have to leave because we do care about you and we want to be here for you. If you leave, you won't be able to work through the pain, because then you will be alone", Caroline told me in an exasperated sigh. She tried to sound reasonable, tried to sound as if it was obvious what she was telling me. But it wasn't, not to me.

"You're doing a great work at showing that. I... I'm not just leaving because of you, I'm leaving because I think I'm going to go insane if I stay here any longer. If you could take a second to actually listen to me you would understand that I'm not _asking_ you if I can leave, I'm telling you that I am." That seemed to really be the final straw for Caroline. She understood that nothing she said would make a difference in my mind. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't try to stop me. It was then, when I saw the little dangerous glint in her eye, that I understood that she wouldn't _let_ me leave. 

"I'm sorry, Hannah, but this is for your best." Those words were never any good. She looked like an animal, ready to pounce on it's prey. It was that look that made fear start to seep in through my veins, fear that instantly called up my flight or fight response. Neither fighting or flighting would do any good towards a vampire, but that didn't mean I didn't try. Without even letting her take a step towards me, I spun around and started to sprint away from her. However, like I had feared, there wasn't exactly much I could do to get away from a vampire.

One grip at my wrist and I was brought to quick stop that made a sharp pain appear in my shoulder. I cried out as Caroline's grip tightened and she brought me closer to her. I looked up at her and saw that there was sympathy in her eyes, but not enough to make her stop. 

"No, don't-" I didn't get any further before I could feel my head colliding with a near by tree. I hadn't even been able to fight back, to try to get away.  I knew that whatever I would have done wouldn't have mattered, but I still didn't want to feel completely helpless. As I drifted of into unconsciousness I realized, however, that as long as I was in Mystic Falls I would be helpless. I would always feel weak, because I wasn't supernatural and neither did I want to be. Those were the last thoughts before the darkness of my mind engulfed me and at that point I was more convinced than ever that I was getting out of Mystic Falls without as much as a goodbye to the people I loved.

•••

"Are you really that surprised over this? I actually thought she would lose it sooner after losing Jeremy. Didn't you notice her spacing out all the time and being really distant? If I were you I would be beginning her for forgiveness since you've kind of known each other your whole lives." The words I awoke to didn't exactly make me feel any better. 

I refused to open my eyes immediately. I knew that it had been Damon speaking, and that almost made it worse. The fact that he, someone I had gotten really close to, had noticed how awful I felt and hadn't done anything. He might have thought that the fact that Caroline hadn't noticed was bad, but what he had done was much worse. After all, he had become a closer friend than Caroline was. I almost saw him as an older brother. 

"And how is it that you're looking at me like that when you haven't even talked to her about it?", Caroline wondered as if she was furious but at the same trying to hide it. The fact that they were both speaking pretty loudly made me realize that they didn't care if I listened into their conversation. I also noticed how they didn't seem to be arguing whether or not I should be allowed to leave. That only meant negatives for me.

 "Hannah! How are you feeling?", Caroline wondered with earnest concern after I had opened my eyes and sat up, announcing my presence. I had a hard seeing her worry as real since she had been the one hurting me in the first place. It seemed so weird how she could be acting as if she cared about me when she hadn't proven it in any way. It wasn't like anyone, except Matt, had shown me any concern the last couple of weeks. 

"Yeah, I'm awesome! Actually, I'm going to go and buy you a present for being such a great friend." My voice was dripping with anger and sarcasm. She seemed to understand that it wasn't wise to defend herself at that moment. However, Damon seemed to have no concern for my frustration since he decided to chuckle at my comment. I didn't even look at him. 

"I'm sorry", Caroline sighed quietly as she looked away from me. I followed her eyes, through the parlor in the Salvatore boarding house, and was then met with Damon's calculating look. It was then that I let myself look vulnerable, let him see exactly how broken I was. It wasn't to gain sympathy, it was to make him realize what an ass he was. I was not out to make peace with the two vampires in the room. Oh no! I was going to fight them on everything. 

"Hannah, I-", Damon started but I put my hand to silence him. Then I breathed out a heavy breath, one I didn't have to fake, and got up from the couch. I pulled my hands through my hair in frustration before looking at the two others.

"Please, don't talk to me. Actually, I don't want to see you or hear you. I want to be as far away from you as possible because then I at least don't have to be reminded of how little you care about me. I bet that any stranger on the street would treat me better than _either_ of you have done. Seriously, just leave me alone." I let venom and betrayal drip from every single syllable. I let them hear just how much they had damaged our relationship. 

Before either of them got a word out I turned away from them and left towards the room I had been given at the house. I didn't even let the door bang shut behind me, but let it close silently. It was just to show that I wasn't just angry, but that they had seriously hurt me. It would make them feel so much worse.

After having locked my door I sat down on my bed and took out my phone. If those two downstairs wouldn't let me leave I wouldn't bother with trying to convince them anymore. Instead I had to go with Plan B, which basically consisted of me sneaking out. 

_To: Matt_

_Caroline and Damon have me on lockdown. Caroline basically freaked out when I told her my plan so don't think she's gonna change her mind. Help? xx_

I sent the text and knew that an answer would come pretty soon. I had already warned Matt about my plans for the day and I had asked him to be on standby so that he could help me if needed. Since he understood my desire to leave he had been more than willing to help me accomplish my goals. He had even suggested coming up with another plan if the talk had failed. I was lucky that he had, otherwise I would have been fucked. 

_From: Matt_

_I'll handle it. Please be safe and call when you're out of town xxx_

The text, like I had suspected, came to me in no time. It was simple and didn't explain much but it didn't need to. Matt wasn't a complete idiot, no matter what Damon might say, and he would come up with a great idea. So, the only thing I needed to do was wait for Matt to put the plan in motion. However, doing nothing put me back on the train of thoughts that had been haunting me recently.

I could still not forget the haunting image of Jeremy, smiling and laughing in a way that was kind of out of character. The way Silas had turned Jeremy into someone that wasn't himself while portraying him. It had made me feel trapped, as if I had been in a nightmare. The worst part had been how he had been able to get into my head and feed into my fears. The things he had said as Jeremy made my skin crawl while it also made me want to crawl up into a ball and cry my eyes out. Silas hadn't just done that once and he knew exactly how to hurt me. He knew how to make me afraid of being alone just because it meant that I would hear the hate-filled words replay inside my mind.

_I hate you. You are the reason I'm dead. I never loved you. How could I love someone who just watched as I was killed?_

"Hannah? Damon and I are going to leave for just a short while. Matt saw Silas in town and we have to go. I promise we'll be back soon, okay?" I could hear that Caroline tried to sound gentle and soothing as she called for me. However, I was still preoccupied by the voice screaming inside my head. Not only that, but I knew that the threat wasn't real. I knew that this was just what Matt had told them to help me. 

"Okay", I answered with little emotion in my voice. I tried to gather myself, tried to take a few breaths and chase away the words that were still ringing in my ears. I needed to get out of my own head if I was going to be able to leave. I was so close and I wouldn't let my own thoughts fuck this up. 

Caroline didn't give me an answer, instead I was only met with the sound of the front door slamming shut. A few seconds later I was met with the sound of a speeding car. Another few seconds of just silence and I determined that I was alone. Completely and utterly alone. The time I had been waiting for was finally there. 

After having thrown the biggest suitcase I could find onto my bed I started to throw in things at random. Clothes, electronics, makeup. I was running around my room like a crazy person, just throwing things that I wanted to bring. Luckily, I didn't need to make any hard decisions. Since my house had burned down I didn't exactly own that much stuff, even if I had taken Damon's credit card for a spin. There was only so much you could by in a small town in Virginia during a short amount of time. 

When I had finally zipped up the suitcase barely ten minutes had passed and I was ready to leave. Carefully, I dragged the suitcase out into the hall and listened for sounds. I was so certain that someone was going to jump out from around the corner and catch me. That didn't happen though and I was able to leave with no hassle. 

Actually, I could barely believe it when I was sitting in my car and ready to leave. Such a huge problem had become nothing just by the help from Matt. I would have to seriously thank him because nothing would have been that easy if it hadn't been for him.

While still thinking of Matt's amazingness I started to speed away from the house. I didn't bother to give the house a last look, even though I could feel a tightness in my chest. This was what I wanted, but it was hard to not feel sad about leaving the only thing I had ever known. For seventeen years I had been in Mystic Falls and lived my life but that was no more. It was only natural to feel strange about the huge change that would come to my life, even if I was happy that it was happening. 

Since I suspected that it wouldn't take long for other negative thoughts would come to me I decided to put on some, very loud, music. As I passed the sign out of town I was singing along to some rap on the top of my lungs. It was then that I picked up my phone to text Matt and let him know that I was out. However, when I picked up my phone I noticed that he had already sent me a text. 

_From: Matt_

_Damon and Caroline are on their way back!_

After a quick reassuring answer I put down my phone again and then I just stepped on the gas. I wasn't that far away yet and I knew that I had to create a bigger distance between myself and the vampires. Driving laws be damned, I would rather have gotten a ticket than have my ass dragged back to Mystic Falls. So, without further ado I just sped away to what I hoped would be a better life. 

•••

When I finally rolled into Beacon Hills I was grumpy. It had been three days and I was exhausted. The fact that I had, had to turn my damn phone of after about two hours because it wouldn't have stopped buzzing hadn't exactly made my trip any more pleasant. That had just meant that I had, had to settle for the music that was playing on the radio and I hated it. 

Yawning as I slowly drove onto the parking lot for the apartment complex I finally stopped my car. If I hadn't been so tired I would have maybe reacted to the chilly night air or maybe I would have felt a knot in my stomach because of how dark it was. I didn't care though. All I cared about was getting my damn suitcase up to the right floor so that I could finally get to bed. 

Technically I didn't know the people I was staying with. Sure, I had talked with the father over the phone for a short while. I had gotten to know his and his daughter's names. I had found out enough to figure that they were pretty normal. When I had first seen the father mentioned in my dad's old journal I hadn't been sure if this was the right person to contact. However, when I had told Chris Argent that I was living alone he had barely even hesitated before saying that I was welcome to stay with him. In my own desperation to get out of Mystic Falls I hadn't been anything but eager to accept his offer.

"Hi, Mr. Argent. It's me, Hannah Gilbert", I introduced myself as the door in front of me opened and a man in his mid-forties appeared. He didn't seem surprised to see me, which he shouldn't have been since I he was aware that I was coming. A calm smile spread across his lips as he realized who he had on his doorstep and then he stepped aside to let me inside. He even took a hold of my suitcase to carry it inside. 

"It's nice to finally meet you, Hannah. Allison isn't home right now but you can meet her in the morning! Come on, let me show you the apartment." I was exhausted but I figured that a small tour around the place wouldn't hurt, and I also didn't have the heart to tell him no. He seemed pretty excited to have me there. I was excited to be there. I mean, I had finally gotten what I wanted. I was finally going to start over and possibly get the normal life I was craving.

"You should call me Chris, by the way", Mr. Argent said as he showed me the way to my room. I hadn't even been there for ten minutes and I could already see myself living there. I could already see this as my home. No matter how much Caroline or Damon might've not agreed, this was exactly what I needed and I could already feel it. It didn't matter what drama or trouble might meet me in Beacon Hills, because I was certain that nothing could be as bad as what I had lived with in Mystic Falls. Nothing... Or at least that was what I had hoped.


	2. First Day

"I think your phone is ringing again", Allison pointed out from the drivers seat as she drove us to school. I had finally met her that morning when I had gotten out of bed to go and grab some breakfast. She seemed alright although I hadn't gotten to know her that well. Still, I saw the potential of a great friendship between us. 

I took my phone out of my jacket pocket and smiled towards Allison, kind of sheepishly. That morning as we had left for school I had finally turned my phone back on and surprisingly it was still going off like crazy. However, Allison hadn't commented on my phone's constant ringing until that moment and I felt to answer it since it would seem strange if I didn't. Reluctantly I pressed the answer button and prepared for the worst.

"Yes, Damon?" I didn't bother with even trying to act as if things were normal between us. I knew that he would be basically furious at me and I also knew that I wouldn't have any of his anger. It was too late for him to start pretending to care now. 

"You are dead! Do you hear me? I will come to where ever you are and drag you right back here and then I will make you feel as if we are truly a family, because I'm going to ground you!" You couldn't help but snort at his comment and without even thinking you rolled your eyes. It was all so strange to hear him say something like that, because if you didn't tell him where you are he would never found you. You had the upper hand so all he had was empty threats.

"Could you just stop? You sound ridiculous and you have no right to act the way you are." My answer was calm and collected, if maybe a little sour. At that moment I was just furious but I contained it because I was well aware of Allison sitting beside me. If I started yelling out profanities she would totally have questions and I only wanted everything to seem fine. It wasn't like I could tell her the truth about why he was mad at me and I was tired of lying.

"I have no right? Are you kidding me? You left without a word and both Caroline and I thought you had been kidnapped until _Donovan_ , of all people, called me and told me that you had left. Did you ever think about how worried you would make me?", Damon yelled into the phone and I couldn't help but laugh dryly and before my common sense told me to stop I started speaking.

"Well, I guess if only you and Caroline would have been more accepting thing would have been fine. I mean I guess I was as considerate of your feelings as you've been of mine." It was maybe a bit mean and I knew it. That's why I didn't give him a second to answer before I hung up. I just hoped that it would have been mean enough for Damon not to call me back. 

"Trouble?", Allison asked in a voice that only spoke of kind consideration, not curiosity. It was hard not to start spilling my guts to her when she sounded so nice. However, I wasn't completely daft so I didn't say anything at first. I just sighed and gathered my thoughts.

"You could say that." At first I thought it would be enough to just say that. That was however not the end of our conversation. As I glanced towards Allison I noticed how she gave me a look that simply said that she would be there if I wanted to share, _or_ it meant that I should just spill and stop being vague. 

"Okay, so that was my sister's boyfriend. He's like a brother to me and we were kind of fighting when I left and I haven't talked to him since. Well, I've ignored him since then. It's really complicated but I think it will all work out if I give it some time." It wasn't a lie. I had just left out some important details, like why we were fighting. Allison seemed happy about the answer though. 

"I hope it works out for you guys. It doesn't sound too bad though", she commented as we finally turned onto the parking lot of the school. I was happy to finally be there but at the same time I was a little bit nervous. After all, I had never started a school where I knew no one. In Mystic Falls everyone knew everyone so school had always been with the same people. I didn't really know if I would know what to do as the new kid. 

"Yeah, I think it'll all work out." I then stepped out of the car and followed Allison towards the front of the school where students were going in. That was when I noticed how she was looking around with her own set of nervous eyes. I was absolutely not above mentioning it. 

"Are you okay, Allison?", I asked her and she gave me a look that told me she probably didn't want to talk about it, but still she didn't stay completely silent.

"Ex-boyfriend trouble, kind of", she simply said before leading me into the school. That was when I understood why she wasn't exactly keen on speaking about it. Even though I didn't have that much experience with boys, I still had been involved to know how it felt having to see your ex every day. Even if you were over them, there was always a strange feeling seeing them. It was awkward.

"Allison!" The sound of a girl yelling out the name met my ears and soon I stood in front of a girl with strawberry blonde hair. She wore a really cute dress and just by looking at her I got the impression that she was a very put together person. It was the first day of school for the year and she had fixed her hair and wore stylish clothes. In more ways than one she reminded me of Lydia.

"Hi Lydia, this is Hannah. She's staying with me and my dad for a while", Allison explained after having greeted her friend. Lydia's attention turned towards me and I could see how she studied me for a few seconds, as if she tried to figure out what type of person I was. She then gave Allison a questioning look which Allison answered with a shrug and their little exchange made me nervous about what it could have meant. 

"I really like that top on you! Pastel colors go great with your hair." Just like that she had accepted me as a part of her small friend group. It was a little bit silly that I had been so desperate for her approval, but I guessed it was something with the way she acted that made people feel like that. She was probably not even doing it on purpose but just by being who she was she could make people want to be her friend, desperately. To say that I didn't know at least one person like that in Mystic Falls would have been a lie. It was probably why I wasn't too affected by her, even though I certainly noticed it. 

As I walked with Lydia and Allison towards our lockers I realized how lucky I really was. Not only had I had someone to hang out with before I had even gotten to school, but I had made another friend before first period had even started. It wasn't as if the actual school work would be a problem, it never had been, but I had been worried about the social aspects. However, having to nice girls to hang out with really helped my self esteem. 

Lydia and I were waiting for Allison to get her books when Lydia started studying all of the guys in the hall. I wasn't really interested in any of them but it was probably mostly because I wasn't looking. My first priority wasn't exactly finding a boyfriend or anything.

"Freshmen. Tons and tons of fresh men", Lydia spoke with a smirk and eyes like a wolf's who's looking for which prey to pounce on. I frowned as I saw her eyes follow the new students and I was a little bit disturbed by her comment. To me they all looked like little kids, even if I was only three years older. Hanging around with people who were 200 years old could really mess up the way you saw people. Not to mention that these 200 year olds looked like they were at least over twenty. 

"You mean fresh boys", I noted in a concerned tone but Lydia only gave me a look which I wished I had not seen. Just the thought of flirting with the new kids made my skin crawl, but maybe that was just me. Even before I had started to hang out with vampires I had been more into older guys than younger ones. My first boyfriend had been a year older than me and I had never really looked at a younger guy and had a second thought about him. 

"Lydia, they're fourteen", Allison said and I was glad that at least she understood me. Maybe it wasn't a Beacon Hills thing for older students to check out the younger students. So then maybe I hadn't a too weird world view. It looked like it was a Lydia thing, liking younger guys that is. Or maybe she just wasn't picky about who she hooked up with.

"Eh, some are more mature then others", Lydia replied and I started to look around just to try and focus on something else except the conversation. It made me more confused than necessary about my own values and stuff. Focusing on fitting in was enough for the first day of school. Questioning my values would have to wait for another day.

"I don't know about that. I'm more into older guys", I told them, while also speaking of experience. I had kissed Damon once, when he was new in town. I had also had a thing with Klaus, but no one knew and we never spoke about it after it had ended. Both of us agreed that it was better left buried, deeply, into the ground where no one would find it. I had also dated a senior while I was a sophomore, although he had been a bit boring. Maybe I shouldn't have been that hard on Lydia since I didn't really find it weird for the guys to hook up or date me. It was the same thing with them as it was with Lydia.

"You know, it's okay to be single. Focus on yourself for a little while, work on becoming a better person." Clearly I had missed something, probably a break up with Lydia and someone if I tried to read between the lines of what Allison had said. As Allison's and Lydia's conversation kept going I noticed something, or more like two someones. Even though I had just thought that I wasn't really up for getting a boyfriend I suddenly had an urge to hook up. While studying the two guys I heard Allison's and Lydia's words.

"Brothers?", Allison asked.

"Twins", Lydia answered delighted. And on this I completely agreed with her. 

•••

English class had rolled around and I actually felt as if the day might continue on going great. When Allison, Lydia and I got there, there were few seats left. Because of that we had to split up and I sat down next to a guy I didn't know. Lydia sat down on the other side of him while Allison sat down in front of the guy between me and Lydia. Allison said something to him that I didn't catch, but I wasn't exactly that interested. Instead, I was thinking about the fact that I had forgotten to text Matt after I had turned on my phone again that morning. That meant that the last thing I had told him was the fact that I had gotten out of Mystic Falls. 

**To: Matt**

**Sorry for not texting! Had to turn off my phone and totally forgot to tell you that I got here safe. Rly SORRY!! Hope you're alright and that Damon and Caroline weren't too harsh on you xxx**

I sent the text, regretting that I hadn't thought about contacting Matt earlier. It had been so much better to call him than to just send a short text. Just as I had been about to put my phone back in my pocket I got a new text. In excitement I looked at my phone, but it hadn't been Matt who had answered me. No, this text was from an unknown number and I could immediately feel nerves building up inside of me. Who could it be? Who had my number? How did they have it? What did they want?

**From: Unknown**

**The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky – seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness**

Just as I was about to freak out about the ominous text I realized that the entire class had gotten it. The fact that I hadn't been a personal target of the text made me feel better, but I still felt uneasy about it. Was there supposed to be a message behind it? Was this some creepy code? 

"This is the last line to the first book we are going to read. It is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phones off, everyone", the teacher said as she stood at the front of the class. I hadn't even noticed her walking in and I looked up at her in surprise. Everyone seemed to listen to her about the phones but not me. If I wanted to use my phone I would. It wasn't as if I would have a hard time following what we were being taught so I figured it wouldn't hurt to just put the phone back in my pocket, still on. I was fairly certain that I would be able to hide my phone if I happened to get a text that I wanted to answer.

The teacher then went on to talk about the book we were supposed to read. I listened with only half an ear as my thoughts seemed to drift. I really needed to calm down. The text we had gotten had almost had me freaking out. Mystic Falls had left me with some real paranoia and I wasn't happy about it. All I wanted was to live normally so I would have to work through some old habits.

When the guy next to me stood up and started to leave I was brought out of my thoughts. Apparently he had some emergency he needed to hurry to. I was about to try to focus on the class when I noticed how Allison seemed concerned and curious about the guy leaving. Her eyes followed him all the way to the door and then they stayed there for a second longer than necessary. I wasn't able to speculate about it too long, because then my phone vibrated in my pocket. With a suppressed smile I sneakily took out the phone while keeping my eyes at the front of the room. It wasn't until I was certain about the teacher not looking at me that I decided to look down at the text I had gotten. 

**From: Matt**

**It's alright! I figured that you would have had to do that since Damon was hooked to his phone until this morning. I'm fine too! They were mad but it's not like I care so...**

**I just thought you might want to know, Damon and Stefan are looking for Elena again. They got a lead after New York xxx**

I sighed at the second text. I didn't want to know, I didn't. If I knew than a small part of me would start hoping that we would able to help Elena and if I hoped I would just get heartbroken when we failed, or when they failed.

Before I could send Matt an answer I got distracted by the thumping sound of something hitting the classroom window. I looked up quickly saw the source of the noise. A bird had flown into it and was smashed against the glass. Since I had my eyes on the window I could see the second bird coming, then a third. Before I could even think about how disgusting it was, hundreds of birds were smashed against the window. 

"Get down, everyone! Get down, down. Get down!", yelled the teacher in panic and I did as she said without protesting. When the windows broke I already had my head in my arms, protecting it from all the birds that were suddenly flooding the classroom. My breathing got labored as I felt panic rising inside of me. Hiding underneath the table was a great place and even though I couldn't see anything I guessed that everyone was trying to avoid getting attacked. I could hear people screaming though, but I kept quiet. I could feel a few birds getting a grip of my hair and yank but it wasn't exactly that painful. It was nothing I couldn't handle, especially since I had been through much worse pain. Even Elena and Jeremy had yanked my hair harder when we had been kids. 

Then they were all gone. I was so confused and I had no idea what had just happened. When I finally got out from underneath the table I looked towards Allison, and what freaked me out was the fact that she looked suspicious. It wasn't a look from someone who had just experienced an unexplainable event. It was the look of someone who knew that what had just happened wasn't normal, but they still knew what it could be. It was the same look that I had probably worn more than a few times. The look I had, had because of supernatural things. 

Maybe it was just more paranoia hitting me, but I couldn't help but feel frightened. Maybe I had lived in a supernatural town for way too long and my mind was just too focused on things not being normal. Or maybe, no matter how much I hoped that I wasn't, I was completely right and it would turn out that I had the worst luck in the entire world. I really wished that it was all just paranoia that I would have to work off. However, something deep inside of me said that it was just naive of me to think that. It said that I knew exactly what was going on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So like most second chapters there isn't that much happening her but that will change, PROMISE! Just get through all of this setting up and it will get better! Hope you like it though and if you do please leave kudos or a comment or something! Thanks!!! 
> 
> Sofija xxx


	3. Not So Normal

"Matt, it was insane! Sure, I've seen crazier shit but this was pretty bizarre. I mean the classroom was flooded with birds and I had no idea what the fuck was going on", I explained in complete disbelief while trying to flatten my hair with my free hand. The rest of the class had been canceled and everyone were contacting their parents, or in my case friend. 

"Matt, what if this is... You know like... not exactly natural", I then continued on in a low whisper. I didn't want to admit it, but I had to share my fears with someone. No matter what I wanted the truth to be I had to consider the fact that maybe I had the worst luck in the entire world and I would never be able to escape this fresh hell. 

"Calm down, Hannah. Everything that's weird isn't supernatural. Although, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it if I didn't tell you to be careful. Just to be safe", Matt's deep voice told me and I smiled. Of course he would always be a watchful eye over me, even when he physically couldn't. However, he in no way sounded concerned and it calmed me. Sometimes I just needed to hear that I might not be right to know that things would be alright. 

"Thanks, Matt, but I got to go. Talk to you later!" I hung up the phone as I saw Allison nearing. She had acted disturbingly calm since what had happened. My chill nerves were to be expected, but I had thought that she would be more freaked out. When she hadn't panicked, and instead only seemed caught up by some deep thoughts, I had just felt worse about my odds of things being normal. 

"Hey, how are you doing?", Allison wondered as she put a gentle hand on my arm. I opted for not showcasing my coolness about the situation. It's not exactly like I could have said that I had been through stranger things and not expect questions. Also, it would be so much easier to just act as if I was low-key freaked out. 

"I just don't know what happened and I... I'm kind of out of it I think", I answered while gesturing vaguely with my hand, as if that would explain anything. Allison eyed me with sympathetic eyes before engulfing me in a tight embrace. It felt like maybe it was a bit much, but at the same time I felt as if Allison was the type of person who wanted to do her best to comfort someone. 

"My dad is on his dad, if you want you can head home with him", Allison suggested but I shook my head. The teacher, Ms. Blake I had learned her name was, had told us that it was okay to leave if we wanted to. Allison didn't act as if she was leaving though and I didn't exactly feel like it either. 

"I'll be alright, but I think I'm going to head out to catch some air", I told her with a small smile. I then left her to first head off towards my locker where I wanted to get a jacket. After that, when I was on my way out I had to pass the classroom again. I noticed that Mr. Argent, Chris, had arrived and I was about to greet him when I heard part of the very serious conversation he seemed to be having with Allison. 

"I'm okay. But dad, the deer and now this?", Allison spoke and I could easily put the information into a scenario. Whatever the deer thing was, it clearly had something to do with the bird attack. Possibly a deer attack or a deer freaking out. Whatever it was, it made my previous suspicions of the supernatural return. They shouldn't have. After all, animals weren't acting strange in Mystic Falls but my mind was reeling. 

With a slight shake of my head I pulled myself out of my own little inner freak out. Instead I took a few deep breaths, decided that I didn't want to know and concluded that I was just way too paranoid for my own good. Then I decided that I didn't need to say hi to Chris and started of down the hall. 

It was kind of crazy how something so strange had happened on the first day of school. Even if it wasn't supernatural it felt like some weird phenomena. Maybe if I looked up _"weird animal behavior"_ there would be some crazy cryptid about it. I would have loved it in that case, but maybe that could wait until I at least settled down in this town. It didn't have to be on the first day, like some weird way for the universe to say _"fuck you, you'll never live normally."_

"Hey, are you alright?" The voice sounded the second I stepped out through the school's doors. My head whipped out to the side and I saw someone leaned towards the wall. It felt strange, how he had known to greet me so quickly after I had come out. However, this certain someone was one very handsome twin so my mind didn't focus on the strangeness for too long. My mind was especially kind towards this strangeness and didn't bother to suspect him of anything since he was giving me a very cute and boyish smile. 

"Yeah, I just feel a bit weird after the bird thing", I answered dismissively as I gave him a tired smile. I walked up and leaned against the wall next to him. I noticed how his eyes seemed to follow me, maybe in an observing way or just casually. I wasn't paying enough attention to figure out which one it was. 

"Yeah, you seem a bit panicked", the twin commented which got me to furrow my eyebrows. What was he talking about? I was no where near panicked, or had I been? Maybe I was a little concerned about whether or not I was in the midst of some weird supernatural stuff but like otherwise I was pretty much fine. Had he really thought I looked that freaked out? 

"Never mind, let's just forget it. I'm Aiden." Upon noticing my clear confusion he must've thought that it was best to jus let it go. I wasn't complaining exactly, more than happy that I had gotten his name. I was happy that I was having a casual conversation. I was making friends. It was way more normal than looming around and sulking about the bird attack. Also being friends, or maybe even more, with a hot guy wasn't so bad. 

"Hannah. I'm new here and, from what I've heard from my friends, so are you. I don't know about where you're from, but I've never really been through something like that before", I said as I pointed towards the school. He cocked his head to the side and chuckled a little. 

"Yeah, I just moved here and I don't think I've seen anything like it either", he told me and I saw how his eyes passed over me quickly, making me want to grin even wider. I resisted though since it felt as if it would just look weird if I stood there with the biggest smile, just because a guy was looking me over. 

Just as I was about to ask Aiden where he came from, I was interrupted by the sound of my phone vibrating. At first I thought it might be a text but since the buzzing continued after the first one I realized that it was a call. With an apologetic smile I picked up my phone to see who had interrupted. Damon. Of course it was him. Who else did I know that had the same strange sense of timing. He wasn't even there and he knew exactly when to come in and ruin things for me.

"I'm so sorry but I have to take this", I apologized after quickly considering not answering the call. However, I didn't want to have a repeat from that morning and I also wanted to know why he had called. At the moment there was only one reason that I could come up with, Elena. Damon wouldn't have been able to find out about the bird thing already, not since the only person I had told was Matt. The two of them weren't exactly on speaking terms.

"No, it's cool", Aiden said as he turned to walk away and I watched as he joined his brother by one of the picnic tables that were set out further from the school. As I braced myself for what was to come I turned away from looking at Aiden and then I answered my phone. 

"Hey, you got anything on Elena?", I wondered as soon as I put the phone towards my ear. It was when I was met with a sigh of relief on the other end that I suspected that maybe I had been wrong. If I was than I would be pretty surprised because nothing in me had suspected that Matt would talk to Damon, not even about something like this. He wouldn't have called him, right? Maybe they had been in close proximity and Damon had heard Matt talking to me. Even though that was a very specific scenario, it was more likely than Matt just calling Damon to give him a heads up. 

 

"Hannah, I'm coming to get you right now! Are you okay?" I rubbed my forehead at his worried words as I felt that I probably should have been the one to tell him what had happened. He seemed to think that something really dangerous had happened, but I barely had a scratch on me.

"Breath, Damon. I'm totally fine and you know that I'm not going home", I calmly stated and hoped that it was enough convince him to just take it easy. It wasn't. 

"I'm not going to let you live somewhere dangerous!" I couldn't help but chuckle at his response, finding it funny how he seemed to pay so much attention to me just because I wasn't in Mystic Falls. It was pretty different from how it had been before.

"You are aware that I would be living in _Mystic Falls_ if I wasn't living here, right? I don't know about you, but I would call that somewhere dangerous", I noted and I felt kind of smug when his response seemed to get caught in his throat. Even he had to realize that a bird attack was nothing compared to Silas. 

"Damon, please just accept my decision. I know that you probably feel like you have to take responsibility for me right now, but I'm not your responsibility. In less than a year I'll be eighteen, an adult. I'm not your sister, or daughter. I'm your girlfriend's younger sister. I have to take care of myself right now." When Damon didn't say anything I decided to try to talk some sense into him. My voice showcased how careful I knew I had to be, but apparently I hadn't been careful enough. 

"Fine, whatever. Call if you need something", Damon curtly answered with some strain to his voice before I heard him hang up. It wasn't surprising that he did something like that when I talked with him about emotions. It wasn't easy when I knew he blamed himself for a lot of things, me losing my brother was one of those things. 

Still, I knew that he wasn't mad at me. I knew that he would be fine and only needed some time alone. Also, he had kind of dropped the subject. He hadn't continued fighting me over him bringing me home. It was a relief and I could almost feel myself breath easier. Maybe I was just imagining things. 

When I looked around again after having hung up I noticed Aiden staring at me. Well, it was more like him and his brother staring at me, weirdly. It was almost as if they tried to figure something out from just staring. I decided to rule out the possibility of them having heard my conversation, and instead just waved to show that I had seen them staring at me. As if they just had noticed me looking back at them they both turned around. It looked a bit comical and I was smiling at them before turning back around. I had gotten enough fresh air and I was ready to head back inside. Things were still bothering me, but now I was able to ignore it. That would have to do until I felt like dealing with it.

•••

It was later that day when I was standing by the lockers and talking to the girls that the next strange thing happened. I had just been gossiping about having talked to Aiden earlier when I was suddenly brought out of the conversation because a girl came up to us. At first I didn't see why she had come out of nowhere. She seemed normal.

"Where's Scott McCall? You're Allison, right?" The questions were aimed at Allison, and she seemed confused as to who that girl was. Just from the few words I felt as if there was something strange about the girl. She was breathing harder than one usually would and her eyes darted between the three of us. From the looks of it, Lydia and Allison were both very confused as to who this girl was. 

"Yeah how do you know...", before Allison could finish she was interrupted by the girl who seemed to get stranger for every moment that passed. There was, however, something about her that seemed frightened too. The urgency behind her looks and her words was reserved for people who were in trouble.

"Where's Scott?"I looked between the three other girls, a bit uncomfortable since I had no idea what was going on. To be fair though, the only person who seemed to know what was happening was the stranger. That made my instincts kick in and I wanted to almost step in between them, but at the same time I wanted to watch from the sidelines to see what would happen.

"He had to leave. He was supposed to be back in class...", once again the girl interrupted. She grabbed Allison's forearm, hard. Immediately my need to get between Allison and the stranger grew. I was about to do something, maybe punch her or say something. I didn't exactly have a plan so it was probably good that Lydia got there faster.

"Hey, easy with the physicality, sweetheart", she said but at the end of her sentence she was also grabbed by the girl. Yeah, I wouldn't let this girl hurt my friends. When I saw the pressure on the stranger's grip I stepped in and pushed her shoulder. She looked up before letting go. The thing was, she hadn't been looking at me. She had looked behind us. 

As the girl ran away I spun around, just in time to see the retreating backs of two very handsome twins. Great, so for some reason I couldn't make friends with a single normal person. Either they were known by some weird girl or they were able to scare said girl off without even getting into hearing range of her. 

"I think I got a bruise, but thanks for that", Lydia muttered while she started to rub her arm. I turned back around to face Allison and Lydia while letting the confusion shine through on my face.

"Ouch! Although I don't think I did anything", I honestly said as I saw that Allison was also turned towards the way where the twins had just disappeared. She was frowning, but she wasn't even close to as weirded out as she should have been. That wasn't exactly doing anything good to my paranoid thoughts, but I fought to keep them back.

"I've never seen that girl before", Allison spoke, as if to herself. Both girls seemed upset about what had happened but in different ways. While Allison was mostly confused about it, Lydia seemed annoyed. It seemed like the fact that she had gotten a bruise was more of an inconvenience than a bizarre experience. 

"Weird", was the most intelligent thing I could get out at that point. My mind was mostly just reeling though. Keeping the paranoia at bay wasn't easy when all I could think about was how things made more sense if there was supernatural things involved. Vampires, werewolves, witches. All of those things could in some ways be used to explain different things but I blanked completely when trying to come up with a way to explain everything that had happened without using supernatural phenomenas. 

I was so caught up in my own mess that I didn't even realize that I was out of the school before it had happened. Apparently I had followed Allison, Lydia and Mr. Argent outside and we were going home. It was Mr. Argent who had decided that we weren't allowed to stay in school, which Allison didn't seem to happy about. I wasn't that happy either because I knew that I would start investigating the second I got back to the apartment. And investigating meant that I would possibly just find more inconsistencies that pointed towards the supernatural. 

Actually, I was wrong. It didn't take me longer than to the car before I had fished out my phone and I was googling Beacon Hills. It was when I started to read the news articles that I really wanted to scream. Animal attacks. Murderers. Fires. Was I in some sort of Mystic Halls look-a-like town? I didn't want an answer to that question because I knew that I couldn't answer it. But I did know one person who might. One very old and very violent person who for some reason didn't hate me. That one person would also not hate me if I happened to blow up his phone until he answered. Let's just say I was lucky to be on Klaus' good side because I really needed his hybrid-knowledge to help me. If anyone could shine some light on my messy situation it was him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So this chapter was more of a filler BUT there will happen way more things in the next one because I think I'm done with just building most things up. I hope. Thank you for reading and if you like it then please just vote or comment or something! Thanks!!!! 
> 
> Sofija xxx


	4. Fun Times With Aiden

Going back to usual school life wasn't that easy, especially when I always got distracted by my need to check my phone. It was why I had basically given up on studying after about ten minutes. Allison and Lydia were sitting in front of me and were being pretty good students. They both had their books opened up before them and were only occasionally talking. 

I would have joined in on the girls' conversation but I was way too interested in getting one irritating hybrid to start answering my texts. I had been texting him since the previous night but I hadn't even gotten a signal that he had seen them. Just before class that morning I had even tried to call him and when he hadn't answered I had left him a very colorful message, one I probably wouldn't have recited in front of my parents if they had still been alive. 

My urgency to get Klaus' attention had only grown as the day had passed. Between Allison and Lydia sharing hushed conversations and seeing multiple looks being shared between my friends I only felt more suspicious. 

"I want one", I heard Lydia say as she glanced away from Allison and me. Her voice wasn't as much a hushed whisper anymore which caught my attention and when I followed where her eyes were looking I saw the twins. The fact that I had actually talked to Aiden made me feel a little smug. Maybe it was just the fact that I wasn't as put together, like Lydia was. It just felt good that I had gotten farther than she had, even though I didn't exactly like the reason behind the feeling it did feel good.

"Which one?", asked Allison and I noticed how Aiden seemed to glance towards our table. It was a bit strange that he was looking at us just as we had started talking about him and his brother. Still, I couldn't help but smirk a little as my eyes met his. 

"The straight one, obviously", said Lydia, which made me wonder which one of them it was she was talking about. I hadn't found out if Aiden was straight or not. Maybe Lydia had been paying a lot more attention to the twins than I had thought or she was just very good at reading people. No matter the reason, I was curious as to see if Aiden happened to be "the straight one."

I stood up and excused myself as I gave the girls a wink. They seemed interested as to what I was doing but by the time I had neared Aiden my back was already turned away from them. Whatever they thought about me actually going to talk to Aiden didn't matter to me since I kind of wasn't looking for being in a relationship with anyone. It would just be a little flirtation at best.

"So, am I forgiving for being totally rude the other day and leaving you for that phone call?", I wondered hopefully and by the looks of it he wasn't that bothered by my previous actions.

"I wouldn't call it rude, but if you want to apologize I won't stop you from doing so", he told me and raised his eyebrows as if he had different ideas of how I could apologize. It made me want to laugh, which I did. 

"I hope you're not expecting any grand gestures, I'm a person of words and not action", I told him, and it could've been more or less true. Aiden seemed to find my way to dismiss his earlier indication amusing. It was pretty clear that he had only been teasing me and I didn't mind it since I found it easy to joke with him back. 

"Really? Well, I myself am a person that likes to take action", he said, again hinting at something. I flicked my hair over my shoulder and changed my demeanor slightly. Then I looked at him daringly. 

"Then prove it." I walked past him, bumping my shoulder with his. I felt pretty confident when talking with him, although I knew it was mostly fake confidence. On the inside I was just freaking out about how I was able to flirt so openly and easily with him. If he hadn't been responding in a pretty predictable manner I would have been lost. Completely lost. Stumbling over my words lost. Talking about the weather lost. 

As I left the library I didn't turn back to see if Aiden was following me. Instead I held my composure until the door closed behind me. That was when I had to take a few deep breaths to calm my heart from the excitement mixed with just general panic. In addition to that I took out my phone to distract myself, also because I knew that if Aiden was following me I would look a bit aloof. 

**To: Klaus**

**Answer your phone!!! I need to talk to you right now!!! If you do not text me I'll hunt you down!!!!!! OR I might already be dead and buried by then**

The last part might have been a little unnecessary and overdramatic, but I figured that it would maybe gain Klaus attention and make him realize that I wasn't just bored and in need to catch up. Not that any of my previous messages had hinted at that, but who knew what Klaus might've thought. 

By the time Aiden finally caught up to me I had almost gotten to my locker where I had planned to put my bag and just grab my books for the next class. That was interrupted though and instead I got dragged into an empty classroom. It was then that I started to feel my heart beating faster again.

"You're really good at acting but you aren't really that confident and flirty, are you?", Aiden challenged me with a smirk as he dropped the hold he had on my arm before coming a little bit closer to me. Maybe I wasn't, but I wasn't going to let him feel all smug about it. 

"If I wasn't, then would I really be here right now?", I wondered as I closed the distance between us and but my hands on his chest. Then I looked up at him while closing the distance between us. He met my lips halfway and we were quickly against the wall, making out. 

Okay I had been wrong earlier. It wasn't a flirtation at best. It was a full blown make out session with a bit of groping. At least I was certain that it wasn't a possible relationship between the two of us. I didn't want that. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I wanted at that exact moment. I was just rolling with the moment and I couldn't say that I hated it.

Both of Aiden's hands were sliding down my waist and to my thighs which he grabbed as he lifted me up. My legs wrapped around his torso as I pressed myself closer to him while moving my lips to bite his lower lip slightly. While one of Aiden's hands moved to my ass, my hands went up to his hair and moved his head so he would start kissing my neck. It was mostly because I needed to catch my breath but as he started to kiss and suck on the skin between my shoulder and my throat I couldn't help but get lost in the feeling. 

We were both so caught up with each other that neither of us reacted at first when my phone started to ring. Actually, whoever was calling must've really needed to talk to me because we at first ignored the ringing until it went silence. However, when it did start up again Aiden's lips froze, just a breath away from my lips.  

"Seriously?" I let out a huff before leaning back and Aiden let me down. While trying to keep my mind from freaking out at the fact that I had just randomly made out with a really hot guy in an empty classroom I focused on finding out who had interrupted us. When I saw Damon's name displayed on my phone I hoped for his sake that whatever it was that he wanted, was really important. 

"You're timing is impecable as always, Damon", I sourly greeted my dear friend. The comment was met with an amused chuckle which didn't exactly do anything to get rid of my irritation. 

"Whatever do you mean? Is it possible that I interrupted something?" The teasing tone was more than evident and if I had been there I would have wiped that smirk, that I knew was there, right off his face. Just the fact that he felt such glee at being an annoyance made him so much more annoying.

"Yes, you did interrupt something and if you you have like ten seconds to tell me why before I hang up and get back to... Whatever I was doing", I told him and I could see Aiden smiling in amusement at the end of my sentence. I could feel the need to blush come over me and I immediately looked away from Aiden so that I wouldn't have to deal with him teasing me about it.

"This is kind of good news, and bad news. Very bad news actually. We found Elena." At first my brain didn't register the fact that Damon didn't sound happy at all about finding my sister. However, that second passed quickly and I could feel stomach drop at the sudden mood change between me and Damon. 

"And what's the bad part?", I asked while trying to brace myself to whatever was coming. It wasn't easy, not when all I could think about was different horrible scenarios that could have occurred to make Damon unhappy about my sisters return.

Murder. Threats. Torture. Loss. It was things I had dealt with before but when my sister might have been the one causing something like it I felt a new rush of fear I hadn't felt before. It might have had something to do with me reaching my breaking point where I just couldn't handle anything that was Mystic Falls related, but it felt like the first time I ever lost someone. Waiting to hear what Damon would say was like waiting to hear the from the hospital that I was an orphan. 

"We found her in a town that was basically run by Katherine. Just that is a mess of it's own but it got worse. We were so close to getting the cure but we failed. Then your dearest sister gave us an ultimatum, either we leave her alone or she starts leaving a trail of bodies around. As if to prove that she was serious she snapped the neck of a _very_ sweet waitress." I had expected worse, but that didn't mean that I felt good. Actually, I felt awful. 

Elena might have changed a lot since Stefan and Damon came into her life. Her sense of moral and ethics were certainly different, but one thing I didn't think had changed was that she never condoned killing humans. Even though we didn't know this waitress, Elena would feel so bad about killing her. Actually, the more people Elena killed the harder it would get to bring her back. With that knowledge I felt a sense of dread filling me since I was getting further and further away from saving my sister.

"Are you going to stop trying?" My voice was much weaker than I would have liked. It showcased exactly what I felt, hopelessness. I could feel my hand, the one holding my phone, trembling slightly and even thought I tried to, I could stop it. 

Still, I refused to believe that Damon and Stefan would give up. They would never give up! They hadn't before and, especially Damon, was never one to back down from a few threats. Nothing had been impossible before so bringing Elena back couldn't be impossible!

"It's not like we have a choice, Hannah", Damon answered hesitantly. My heart dropped and my eyes widened at hearing his words. How could he? Of course he had a choice but he was just too scared to make the right one! He couldn't be serious about letting Elena be this emotionless monster that she had turned into. 

"Both of us know that you do. Both of us know that if you don't do anything she will only become worse. But who cares? Someday she will gather humanity back. I mean who cares if I'm alive to see that day, right?" It was no point in trying to hide the fact that I was hurt by his decision. There was no point in pretending that I was alright with the brothers doing this.

"We'll keep an eye on her but we can't do anything that she'll see as a threat. Hannah, we can't risk her killing anyone since she's in Mystic Falls again. If you want to help her, then come home." Damon sounded tired and maybe a little hopeful as he waited for the answer to his suggestion. I shook my head, even though he couldn't see it. I just felt a bit thorn. I wouldn't come back, I just couldn't do that. At the same time I was worried about what was going on there. I wanted to help, while also wanting to stay as far away as I possibly could.

"Damon... You know I can't help her. If she didn't care enough to be there for me before, she sure as hell wouldn't care about me now... And I can't stand being around her, it just hurts too much." What I didn't tell Damon was that the last time I had seen Elena she had said some words that still pained me and I knew that she would be just as harsh if I ever saw her again. 

The conversation had been pretty distracting so I had completely forgotten about the fact that there was even someone else in the room with me. That was, until I let my eyes wander. My eyes came into contact with Aiden's and he didn't need to say a word for me to figure out that he had heard some pretty bad stuff just now. 

Another thing that struck me, one thing that actually made me gasp, was his red eyes. Also, he seemed to have grown fangs and claws... and fur? Okay, so he had probably heard every single word of my conversation with Damon. 

" _Fuck!_ " Without a better word to describe how I was feeling, I was left with just that one. As I said it, or more like half-yelled it, I jumped backwards, only to feel my back hit a table. My action seemed to have awakened something in Aiden as he then reacted by taking one step closer to me. I quickly countered that by stepping to the side of the table and then backwards. And so we continued until my back was against the wall.

Why did this have to happen to me? Why did I have to hook up with some supernatural creature who seemed really mad at me? Apparently I wasn't as paranoid as I had thought, instead I had one hell of an intuition. Because I had been right about Beacon Hills. I had no idea if the bird thing had something to do with the supernatural, but this town was _not_ normal! 

"Hannah? Hannah, what's going on? Hannah?!" I was way too focused on not getting attacked to answer Damon. Didn't even know what I would say if I tried to explain the situation to Damon. Instead, I just stood with my back pressed against the wall while Aiden got closer and Damon continued to scream into my ear. 

"Ah!" Aiden had grabbed ahold of my wrist and started to twist it, making it so I quickly lost my hold on the phone. It dropped to the floor but I could still hear Damon's voice coming from it, although my heartbeat and pulse was almost overthrowing the sound. Well, that and the whine I made because of the pain in my wrist. 

"What are you?", Aiden growled, _yes_ growled, out. I swallowed without answering until he then pushed me into the wall, hard. It was as if something had just been awaken in me and all the words that had been impossible to say before started to flow freely.

"Damon! Oh my God, help! Fuck, this creature is like about to kill me! I might actually die. Fuck-", I didn't get any further before Aiden put his free hand over my mouth and then growled only about an inch from my face. His red eyes were staring daggers into my brown ones. My mouth closed and I swallowed back the words that had been about to rush out of me.

Aiden's grip on my wrist loosened, but it still stung after he had let go. Also, the pain was quickly replaced by a new one. Instead of holding onto my wrist Aiden apparently decided to take ahold of my throat. It was definitely intimidating having a red eyed and furry creature holding you by the throat. 

"Answer my question!" I was confused at first, not even remembering that he had asked me anything. So I just stayed quiet, which made Aiden squeeze at my throat. I had no idea what that was supposed to accomplish since that only made it impossible for me to talk, even if I had wanted to. 

In a weak attempt to escape from Aiden's grip I tried to wriggle my way out of his grip. He didn't let up though and only pushed me into the wall again. This time I hit my head and I could feel the bruise from when Caroline had hurt me just a couple of days prior hurt. Actually, my whole head started to hurt and I had to take a few deep breaths to be able to put my focus back on Aiden. He had finally let go of my throat, but he was not backing away from me. Instead he showed his fangs and snarled at me before reminding me of the question he wanted answered.

_"What are you?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! So, is this chapter filled with more interesting things like I said it would be? Maybe, not really? I mean this is like where things start to kick off so things are going to start to really happen now! I hope you liked this chapter and if you did you can leave kudos or a comment or whatever!!! :D 
> 
> Sofija xxx


	5. Strange Creatures

It was hard to say whether I was more scared or curious as I was pushed up againat the wall by Aiden. Sure, I was probably in danger but I'd been through much  worse. That didn't mean that I was cool as a cucumber while staring into Aiden's shining red eyes, I was beyond frightened. But it was the type of fright you felt in a haunted house or while watching a scary movie. It was my instincts taking over and telling me to get the fuck out of there.

One thing that was stronger than my instincts though was my spite, and it drew me to staying quiet and not answer Aiden's question. My self-consciousness, overthinking and overall sad personality had nothing on my spite. Just the fact that he had pushed me against the wall and hurt me made me so much more inclined to staying quiet. If he was going to act like uncivilized I was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me falter.

"I'll only ask you this one more time. What. Are. You?", Aiden spoke threateningly and it was then that I noticed how there was something animalistic about the way he talked. He looked like a mix between an animal and a human but I had no idea what he was. If I hadn't known better I would have thought he was a werewolf, but they didn't look like that. I had to say I preferred the way werewolves looked to this ugly creature in front of me. Aiden, who had been so attractive, had his whole face scrunched up and it looked peculiar, for a lack of a better word.

"I don't know why you're so concerned about me when you're the one who looks like some fucked up halloween costume. Seriously, what are _you_?" My voice was confident, if a little bit croaky from Aiden's previous grip on my throat. His hands were on either side of my body, locking me in without actually touching me. However, if I tried to fight I could only imagine that changing. 

"I could kill you pretty easily. You know that, right?", Aiden stated and I didn't know if he realized that the more he threatened me, the less I believed him. Since he had stopped hurting me I felt more confident in the fact that he wouldn't hurt me too bad. 

Still, I had a sense of self-preservation and it made me make a quick decision. With only hopes that it would work I roughly jerked my knee up until it made contact. I only waited to see the shocked and slightly pained look in Aiden's eyes, and hear a small breathy gasp escape his lips, until I started sprinting. 

I might have known nothing about whatever creature Aiden was, but I had figured out one thing. If you were a guy it would hurt pretty bad if you kicked him in the groin. If it hadn't worked I would have been pretty screwed, but I hadn't really seen another way of getting out of there. 

My small head start was just that, small. I hadn't gotten that far down the hallway before I could hear the sound of footsteps following me. The fact that classes had started and I was alone in the corridor only made matters worse. There was nothing stopping Aiden from going full on _creature-thingy_ in the hallway. When I heard that he was gaining on me quickly I determined that I needed a miracle if I wanted to get out alive.

"Hannah!" Like an answer to a pray a new voice reached my ears. It wasn't Aiden's human voice, neither was it his animalistic one. Whoever it was made me feel safe enough to halt and turn around. My eyes met the sight of another creature standing further away in the corridor, but also getting closer. He seemed mad, but not at me. His eyes were stuck on Aiden. 

The closer the guy got, the more I started to recognize him. It was a guy I had seen Allison talk to briefly, the one I had learned was her ex. Scott, my mind told me his name was. At the moment I was curious about how Allison tied into everything, if she did, but I was also interested to see Scott's connection to Aiden.

I watched as the two guys stood apart, frozen, before they pounced on each other. They fought in a almost dancelike manner, which was a little bit funny. Seriously, these creatures looked funny and acted funny. If they hadn't been so dangerous I would have laughed. 

"Stay away from her! She doesn't have anything to do with this!" I shook my head to focus back on what was happening in front of me, only to see that Scott had come to a halt in front of me. He was crouched down in a defensive position, as if he was ready to protect me if Aiden tried anything again. 

A smile spread over Aiden's lips as he looked between Scott and I. There was the usual mischievous look in his eyes that I had seen just earlier in the library. Then I had thought that it was boyish, possibly a little bit cute. However, in his furry and red-eyed state it looked evil.

"So you don't know what's up with her either. I'll just say that maybe she isn't as innocent as you might think", Aiden told Scott as he slowly transformed back into his human form. I gulped slightly, scared that maybe his words would make Scott turn on me and that I would have another problem on my hands. That didn't happen though. 

"I said, stay away from her!" Scott's harsh tone didn't effect Aiden in slightest. He just chuckled and turned around before leaving down the hall. I was breathing hard as I watched him leave but I tried to calm down from the whole incident. The fact that Scott was still there, now turned towards me while looking human didn't make anything easier. 

"What did he mean by that?", Scott asked with both curiosity and cautiousness. It didn't seem like he wanted to scare or hurt me, but I felt a little bit freaked out. Any second he could have just snapped and turned on me. I didn't want to tell him anything, especially since I didn't know him. This was the first time I had talked to the guy.

"I-I have n-no idea", I stuttered as I started to back away. My heart hadn't calmed down yet and it was still beating like crazy in my chest. I didn't think I would have been able to calm it down if I stayed inside. No, I needed to get out of there. I needed not only fresh air, but time for myself. Time where I could get my thoughts straight. 

Lacking any better idea, I spun around on my heel and started to sprint out of the halls. I could hear Scott call out to me once but he didn't follow. At least that mentally calmed me a little bit, because would not have been up for another supernatural chase that day. Actually, I just wanted to get back to the Argents' apartment. Hopefully the walk there would calm my mind. 

•••

It hadn't hit me at first that I probably needed to know where I was going if I wanted to get back to the apartment. Not until I was already lost. By that time I had calmed down and my mind was pretty sorted out. 

Supernatural things were not really a surprise to me anymore. That didn't mean that I couldn't be shocked by suddenly stumbling upon some pretty ugly creatures. However, I wasn't freaking out about it. I'd seen worse so the only thing I was really looking for at the moment was an explanation. I wanted to know what they were and if they were a threat to me. I wanted to know if it was safer here than in Mystic Falls. If it wasn't, I wouldn't stay. I hadn't left my home just to go somewhere more dangerous and crazy. It wasn't like it would be extremely hard to leave Beacon Hills. I had barely settled there so if I needed to I would leave without even thinking of looking back.

"You look like you might need a ride", a voice suddenly spoke which brought me out of my thoughts. I looked to the right and saw that a black Camaro had pulled up to the curb. Inside sat a dark haired guy with mesmerizing light green eyes, which I could see because his window was rolled down. My initial reaction was to do a double take because this guy was basically Damon from an alternative universe. They were so similar, down to the leather jacket.

"Sorry, were you talking to me?", I asked since I couldn't really understand why a stranger would talk to me. If he had anything more in common with Damon, except looks, that would kind of explain it. Still, that would mean that he knew Scott or Aiden and that they wanted me to get a ride by this guy. It seemed really strange.

"Yeah. I'm a friend of Scott's and he asked me to help look for you", the guy told me with a smile that he probably put on to make me comfortable. Even though it didn't really work I couldn't help but think that it made him look even more attractive than before, which was saying something since he was gorgeous.

"Well, I have talked to Scott a total of once so I can't really say that you being his friend makes me feel cool with getting in a car with you. I mean, worst case scenario you're a serial killer. Best worst case scenario, you're a really bad driver. I think I'll just walk." To be honest, just the fact that he had mentioned Scott made me really not want to get into the Camaro. If he was Scott's friend he could have also been something supernatural and the fact that he looked like Damon only made me suspect him more. 

"If I was a bad driver I wouldn't be driving a nice car and if I was a serial killer I wouldn't _ask_ you if you wanted a ride", the guy commented with one raised eyebrow. I chuckled a little and shook my head. I wondered if I should have pretended to be an innocent and scared girl or if I should have just been honest with what I knew and what I came from. It was probably too late to act all freaked out, at least in front of this guy.

"True. After the day I've had, though, I don't think I should be getting into a car with a guy who's name I don't even know." I told him and shrugged my shoulders. I was balancing in between scared girl and girl with supernatural expertise. That was just me being me though. Instead of trying to be smart and think through what I did and said, I was just being myself. I was too tired to really try anything. 

"Derek", the guy said and I could see a small sympathetic look in his eyes and then I knew that he knew what I had seen that day. He was a part of whatever supernatural world Scott was living in. I didn't really know if I was ready to be around that. 

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll walk. You can tell Scott that he doesn't need to send out a search party, I'm just going home", I told Derek before turning around and starting to walk the same way I had just been heading. I hadn't gotten that far before Derek spoke again.

"Walk back and then take the first right before turning left. It's just straight forward after that." Derek had distracted me enough so that I had forgotten that I had no idea where I was headed. When I turned around to thank him, he had already rolled up his window and was driving away.I didn't waste any time watching him leave, instead I headed in the direction he had pointed me. Derek might have looked like Damon, but he was different. Just from the small conversation we had, had I could tell that he was nicer. Kinder. It made me smile as I started my walk towards the apartment. 

•••

Sneaking into the apartment would have been much easier if the door wouldn't have banged shut behind me. The sound made me jump and my head quickly whipped up towards further into the apartment. My hopes of just sneaking into bed were ruined. 

"Hannah, is that you? Are you okay?" Chris Argent appeared into the hallway with a sympathetic look in his eyes. For a man who had a very rugged look to him he sure could look very soft when he wanted to. It actually calmed me a little and helped me start smiling. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to go to bed if I'm honest", I answered and started to head towards my room. Chris stopped me before I could get there though by taking a soft hold of my wrist. 

"You know, Allison told me what happened. Don't you think that we should talk about it?", Chris told me and even though he presented it like a question it was pretty clear that he meant it more like a command. However, I was really not up for talking. 

"I'm fine, thank you. Seriously, I just really want to sleep right now." Chris eyed me in silence for a few seconds and then decided to not let me go. 

"Seeing Scott and Aiden turn into werewolves couldn't have been easy so I really think it would be best if we did talk about it, Hannah", Chris told me with a pointed look. His words made me frown and I looked at him in confusion. Did he really know what was going on, because I knew for a fact that they weren't werewolves. After all, they looked more like what someone would look like during halloween if they wanted to dress like a werewolf. They weren't real werewolves.

"I'm sorry, what?", I wondered as I actually stopped and relaxed in Chris' grip. I might've had no interest in talking to Chris before but just this small detail had changed all that. I was curious as to what he thought I had seen. I was curious as to what he knew about the supernatural world. Most of all I was curious as to what was going on in the town. I had been that before too, but then I had only wanted to go to bed and deal with everything in the morning. That was no more.

"Of course, you probably have no idea what happened. You see, Scott and Aiden are werewolves", Chris explained as he let go of my arm. The way he said it, with such certainty, made me freeze. He must have really believed that they were werewolves. If he did that then I didn't exactly know what I could really find out from him that just couldn't wait until morning.

"Oh... Okay." I was at a loss as to what else I could say. Instead I just nodded while feeling myself get more stuck in my mind. I didn't feel like explaining how he was wrong and how I knew about real werewolves. I didn't feel like explaining that I had only asked if I could come stay with him because I myself had supernatural trouble. I didn't feel like talking at all, not when I couldn't find out anything important from Chris.

"Come on, we can go and sit down in the living room. I bet you probably have a lot of questions", Chris commented as he started to walk towards the living room. I stayed still though. My room was just past the living room so when Chris stopped to see if I was coming, he didn't see me following him like he must have thought. Instead he actually saw me headed towards my room. 

"Hannah? Hannah, where are you going?", Chris' voice rang as I hurried past where he had sat down on the couch. I didn't even look up as I opened the door to my room and quickly walked in. Not wasting any time I shut the door behind me and turned the lock. 

"Hannah, we need to talk about this." I sighed and closed my eyes while leaning my back against the door. I was probably overreacting. Sure, I was confused and curious and a little bit scared. That didn't mean that I had to act so strange though, but for some reason I couldn't help myself. I just had to be alone. I just had to calm down my thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Argent. I promise that we'll talk about it, but I just can't do it right now", I said in a soft voice. Silence then followed and I hoped that he wouldn't argue and when I finally heard the sound of retreating steps I let out a breath of relief. 

I couldn't say that I was surprised that I was surprised that I had ended up in the middle of another supernatural mess. It sucked and made me want to run for the hills, run to another town. My sensible side disagreed with that. It told me to stay and find out if it was dangerous, if it was really that bad. If it wasn't a danger to me it wouldn't hurt to stay in a place where I otherwise really felt like I fit in. 

As I lay in bed that night I prepared myself to face some hard struggles the next day. I tried to decide how I would face all the questions that I knew were coming and how I would face the whole situation. I couldn't decide on what to do but I knew that I would come up with something, even if that decision came a minute before I had to talk with anyone. Things would be alright and I would be able to get up in the morning to face all of the problems that were waiting. It wasn't like I hadn't had to face worse before, and this I at least got a few seconds to prepare. It was more than I had gotten before. However, I had never felt like I really needed it as much as I did then. 


	6. The Story Behind the Creatures

To say that I was a star at avoidance was an understatement. When I woke up in the morning and thought about going out of my room to meet either Allison or Chris I just turned around and went back to sleep. It was probably not the best thing to do but I couldn't say that I cared. Not then at least.

"For fuck sake, Klaus! I could be dead right now! I could be dying!" I muttered as I was once again sent to voicemail. A heavy sigh left my lips as I chucked my phone onto my bed and turned back towards my wardrobe. I had dropped it after the thing with Aiden and it hadn't hit me until earlier that morning. When I had gone outside to get some breakfast I had discovered my phone on the kitchen counter with a note attached to it that told me Allison had brought it from school. I was just happy that it hadn't broken when I had dropped it.

The apartment was silent since both Allison and Chris had left a couple of hours ago so I was all by myself and I felt a little bit cooped up after having just laid in bed for the entire morning. Since I had a key to the apartment I saw no harm in going outside for a little while, just to get some fresh air and clear my head. Getting ahold of Klaus had turned out to be no success so I just had to give up on that, for the moment.

As I was heading out I felt a new uncomfortable feeling, one I couldn't really explain at first. However, as I was heading down the stairs it hit me. The fact that I was skipping school so early on and it was because of supernatural things, just like it had been before. I just hoped I didn't miss anything important since I kind of didn't want to get held back.

As I left the apartment building I put in my headphones to play some music. I hadn't forgotten to get my phone from my bed since I felt completely lost if I went anywhere without it. The music was nice, but I couldn't help but feel like every song somehow made my mood worse. It was probably because of my music taste, but I couldn't help but like sad and moody music. I was just usually much more appreciative of it. I could understand my slight problem with the music though since my life was kind of fucked up at the moment.

Since I was new in town I didn't really know where I was going but I figured that if I just walked around I would never get too far away from home. Also, I actually had my phone so if I got lost I could use it to find my way back, and I didn't have to get the help from a hot guy in a nice looking car.

Just as my thoughts landed on Derek I couldn't stop thinking about him. He was hot, but he was also kind in a way most people I usually met weren't. It wasn't in a creepy or scheming way. I might've been completely wrong but I felt as if Derek just was a nice but troubled dude. At least that was how I felt after talking to him for a few minutes. It might've just all been for show.

As I passed two buildings I noticed a form in the corner of my eye, a person. On instinct I looked towards the form and did a double take as I saw who it was. Not only had I thought that I wouldn't have known them, but I had also never expected it to be the guy who I had just been thinking about. At least he didn't act as if he was there because he was stalking me, his eyes were focused on the phone in his hands. Still, that didn't stop me from approaching him.

"You look like you might need some company", I said as I started to head down the alley. Derek's head didn't even turn to acknowledge me as I came closer, instead I was met with a short huff.

"Actually, I am fine", he said as he kept his eyes down on the phone in his hands. I looked at him with doubt in my eyes and a crooked smile on my lips as I leaned on the brick wall to the left. For a couple of seconds I let the silence hang in between us as I debated on what to say.

"You know, I'm pretty bored so you could literally stay silent for the rest of our meeting and I still wouldn't leave." I got comfortable against the wall, expecting him to just ignore me since I technically gave him the permission to do so. However, this was something that finally gained his attention. 

"You are acting strangely calm for someone who just saw two werewolves fight yesterday for the first time", Derek commented as he glanced up at me with a suspicious, but also curious, gleam in his eyes. Leave it to him to find the one topic I didn't want to discuss. I wasn't leaving though and that only made me more inclined to turn this into something positive for me. There had to be something I could gain form talking to Derek about whatever supernatural was in Beacon Hills, even if he falsely believed that they were werewolves.

"And you're talking pretty casually about it", I commented, trying to lead him to reveal more. He didn't say anything though, instead he just looked at me for a few seconds. Then he put his phone away before walking closer to me. 

"Is this the first time you've seen werewolves?" I debated whether I should play the role of innocent little girl or if I should just be honest. If I wanted to stay in the bubble of normal that I had tried to create around me I should have probably lied. I had a feeling though that it probably wouldn't have worked even if I tried.

"Well, I'm not even sure I saw any werewolves. It seriously looked more like ugly mutations, if I'm gonna be honest." I shrugged and couldn't help but smile a little bit as I saw the frown appearing on his forehead. Still, he didn't seem that surprised.

"What do you think werewolves look like?", he wondered with hesitation lacing his words. I sighed and straightened slightly as I stepped back slightly, feeling as if he was standing way too close. I needed some personal space.

"Where I'm from they look like wolves, I don't know if that's a new concept to you but that's what I know", I explained as I studied his face to see what his reaction would be. For a few seconds he just stared at me with the same suspicious eyes as before, until he then seemed to decide how to feel about what I had said. 

"Well, there are werewolves that do that too." I waited to see if he would say anything else, but of course that was all he had to say about that. I shook my head and looked down on my feet. It was clear that he didn't want to have this conversation since he didn't know who I was or what I knew. But come on! Did he have to be so vague!

"So, how about-" I looked up again and that was when I noticed that he was gone. Not just leaving, but gone. I should have been used to being left like that after having lived with vampires but I guess it was pretty strange when I wasn't expecting it. 

Instead of wasting time just standing around I decided that maybe it was time to start heading home. I hadn't been out for too long but still, I felt that it was enough. My plan to clear my head hadn't gone down perfectly, but I felt better in some ways. The small talk with Derek had made something clear. I had made a quick decision that meant I wouldn't be able to act as if I knew nothing about the supernatural. I just hoped that had been the right decision.

•••

The door closed behind me as I stepped inside the apartment. It was still quiet inside and that was all I needed to know that no one was home. At least that meant I would have some more time to gather my thoughts until I had to explain everything to Allison and Chris. For some reason it felt like such a burden to have to talk to them and explain what my situation was. 

I had just reached the kitchen when the sound of my phone vibrating in my pocket reached my ears. For a second I just stood there without reacting, a little bit startled by the sound. Then, as I realized the possibility of who it could made me act quickly. 

"Hello?" My voice was eccentric even though I tried to hide it. I had been waiting for over two days to get this call, I was right to be excited. Even though I might've also been a little bit sour about the fact that he had basically ignored me for days, that was almost completely forgotten once I finally got the call.

"Hello, darling. What is it you have been blowing up my phone with?", Klaus spoke from the other end of the line. He sounded no where near annoyed, even though his words hinted towards great annoyance. They only made me huff since it got me thinking about the small situation I had gotten myself into. 

"Well, if you would have read the texts you would know. Right, honey?", I said teasingly, trying to imitate his British accent. I wasn't very successful but that wasn't news to me. If there was one conversation I had had with Klaus where I hadn't tried imitating him, badly, I would have been surprised. 

"I know that you want my help and I am very impatient. Please, enlighten me of your problems", Klaus sighed, a sound that made me slightly worried. He was rarely one to grow tired or irritated of me and I didn't think that was the reason behind his tone either. It sounded more as if it was something much more important bothering him. For a second I wondered about whether I should have asked him about it, but then I simply figured that if it truly was important enough he would know that he could always come to me with his problems.

"I guess you've probably heard about me moving from Mystic Falls, and apparently I'm cursed because this new problem is coming from where I'm living right now. You see, there are these weird beastly creatures here who claim to be werewolves. They aren't though, right?", I asked as I started to leave the kitchen. My first thought was to go to my room but just outside my room I stopped. 

"Yes, I heard about that and from the sound of it I think I know what you are talking about. Let me ask you, where are you exactly?", Klaus wondered, this time seeming completely focused on our conversation. Whatever that had been on his mind before was pretty much gone.

I was however not as focused. My mind was on the room down the hall, Allison's room. The door was unlocked, I knew because that morning I had tried to get into every single room in hopes of finding something out. I had failed, but it hit me that I had just skipped Allison's room. My curiosity was telling me that I should probably at least take a look.

"I can't tell you the exact location because, I'm sorry, I just don't think I can trust you with that. I really don't want anyone waking me up in the middle of the night trying to abduct me to get me home again. Let's just say that it's in California." I thought that my explanation would have been vague enough for him 

"Love, I have lived everywhere on this earth. I do know of Beacon Hills, you know? It's kind of hard to miss." Had I had anything in my mouth it would have fallen right out after how big it dropped open at Klaus' words. He could make out the city from just the state?! What type of town had I settled down in?! 

"I'm afraid why Beacon Hills is so special, so could you instead just tell me about the creatures? I just want to know what I'm dealing with, or if I should even stay and deal with them", I told Klaus as I sighed and pulled a hand through my hair. I had gotten to Allison's room and I was just about to determine where I should snoop first. 

"I could tell you that they aren't real werewolves, not pure. They were created many years ago in an experiment which ended terribly. I don't know if you want to hear the whole story and I'm not sure I'm in the mood to tell it." I swallowed at his words, nervous for what the story could be. At the same time I was kneeling down in Allison's closet, trying to find anything that could give me any clue of who she and her father was.

"Please, Klaus. I need to know what this is... At least two of them, no three, know that I know of them. If they're dangerous I have to know. You know that I can handle quite a lot so please, I need to hear this", I told Klaus in a somber voice. Whatever reason as to why he didn't want to tell it, I didn't want to know. I just wanted to know if I could stay without getting killed.

"As you please", Klaus said after a short moment of silence, one where I sat still. It was then when he started to talk that I then stood up and headed out of the closet. 

"It was very long ago, when I was still struggling with my own thirst. It was a werewolf  in eastern Europe who made these creatures, in spite of what the witches wanted. However, he couldn't have cared any less, because his wife was dying." The man Klaus spoke of sounded strange, unstable.

"He had experimented on regular humans before, because he wanted a pack. It wasn't until he went to his son's wife, a witch, that he was able to create the formula. It was a mixture of blood, venom, and magic. The witch's ancestors had told her to not help the man, that it was against the natural order. When she didn't listen, they got mad." If I hadn't been so invested in the story I would have probably huffed. I wasn't a stranger to the witches' rage when people ignored their demands. 

"The man was able to save his wife, however the ancestors cursed this new creation. They were just as much slaves to the moon, but in a different way. They stayed partly human, partly wolf. Their control was weak, even when the full moon wasn't up. Also, they are dependent on each other and packs. Lone wolves of that sort have a hard time surviving." I had taken a round around Allison's room but I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, so I was sitting on her bed. As Klaus finished his story I stayed curious. 

"But do they have leaders in the pack, then? How can these creatures still exist?", I asked, biting my lip as I tried to sort out all of the information I had gotten. It was pretty straight forward, but I couldn't help but still feel confused.

"Yes. There are alphas and betas. The lone wolves are omegas. Only the alphas can create new creatures by biting a human. Before you ask, no these bites are not lethal to vampires." Klaus had been right in his assumption about my next question. The second he had said the word _"biting"_ all I could think about was the possible dangers.

"Okay... Alright." I muttered, not really sure of what else to say. My eyes travelled to my feet that swung back and forward just by the foot of the bed. It was as I looked at them as I realized a last place where I hadn't looked, one that I couldn't leave alone.

"Hannah, I don't think you are safe in Beacon Hills. That said, you are probably better of there than in Mystic Falls." I was only half focused on Klaus' words as I had kneeled down in front of the bed and was currently pulling out a wooden box. It looked too fancy and too big to just be a casual storage box. As I looked at it I knew that I had hit the jackpot. 

"Klaus, I just have one last question. What does  _Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent_ stand for?", I asked as I looked at the inside of the lid of the box. The French words were engraved into the box, and even though I had tried to learn French I was awful at it. That was the biggest reason as to why I had changed to Spanish. 

"It means _we hunt those who hunt us_. It is also the motto of the hunter family Argent." At Klaus' answer I quickly realized what the box was used for. It was empty, but by the shape of it I could tell that it was supposed to hold a bow.  I didn't know if I should have been more focused on the fact that my friend apparently hunted werewolves, on the fact that her family was famous for hunting, or the fact that Klaus apparently knew everything there was to know about anything.

"I'm guessing they don't exactly hunt deer", I commented with a huff as I closed the box and pushed it back underneath the bed. As I turned around and sat with my back leaning against the bed I tried to settle my loud thoughts. I had no idea what to think about anything that I had learned. The only thing I was sure of was that I at least didn't want to leave Beacon Hills just yet. 

"That would be right. Can I ask how you happen to have stumbled upon this motto?", Klaus asked, genuinely curious but I could hear the slight concern in his voice too. The fact that someone like Klaus was actually able to feel some type of worry for me made me feel kind of special. It wasn't that I had ever doubted that he cared about me, but sometimes I just wondered if he was able to feel empathy for problems as small as mine.

"I live with them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!! Okay so this update took a little bit longer to get done since I was on vacation and my internet sucked. But here it is and I hope y'all like it. If you do, please leave kudos or a comment or something :D
> 
> Sofija xxx


	7. Worlds Collide

It seemed as if the Argents had decided that one day was the amount of time he decided to give me to myself. It was slightly surprising that both Allison and Chris hadn't bothered me the previous night when the two had gotten home. They had actually both given me space to myself and when I had snuck out of my room later at night neither came out to talk to me, even though I was positive that they must have heard the microwave going off when I, for a second, forgot that I was supposed to not make any noise. 

"Hannah, could you please sit down while Allison and I explain a few things?" Chris sounded surprisingly calm and patient as I came into the kitchen. I listened to his request, even though I didn't feel that compelled to actually listen to what he had to say. After the information dump I had gotten the previous day from both Derek and Klaus it felt quiet useless getting something explained to me again. The fact that they were hunters also gave me some mixed feelings. The hunters I had come across, including my own family, had never really been that selective when it came to what creatures to hunt. Usually they only saw all supernatural beings as bad and actual personality and morals never mattered. 

"What you saw the other day must have shocked you and I know that you might feel like just suppressing it, but I just need to tell you that you are not in danger and that if you want to talk to us we would really appreciate it. Just know that you don't have anything to worry about and we only want you to be okay." I was shell-shocked for more than a few moments. I had expected a whole, in-dept explanation of what had happened. I was pretty happy that it wasn't what I got. 

"Thanks guys, but I'm fine. I'll come to you if I need something, but right now I just want to have a casual and boring day at school", I told them with a crooked smile as I slid of the stool I had sat down on. Allison and Chris gave each other concerned looks but stayed quite since they had promised me that they wouldn't press me on the subject. 

I went on as if I hadn't seen their looks and opened the fridge. After having gotten some breakfast in me I headed back to my room to get ready for the day. Even though I wasn't the most fashionable human being in existence I would not go to school in my pajamas. However, the longer I thought about it, the better it sounded. Non the less, I had to settle for some ripped jeans and a plain grey sweater. 

"Are you ready to go, Hannah?", Allison wondered from outside my room. I looked at my phone and noticed that there was plenty of time before school started so even though Allison clearly wanted to leave, I had no reason to hurry.

"No, but you can head to school! I'll just drive there myself", I told her as I picked up my hairbrush and tried to untangle the mess that was my hair. At first I got no answer but I also didn't hear the sound of her retreating steps. 

"Are you sure?", Allison then asked, as if she was unsure that she should even be asking the question. I sighed slightly at how she was so obviously trying to tip to around me without actually asking me what she wanted to ask. 

"Yeah! I'm not ready yet and it doesn't really matter, I mean we could head home together either way since Chris will be giving you a ride, right?" I shouted through the door, while trying to sound as optimistic as possible. I knew that Allison still suspected that I was trying to avoid her and Chris. While that wasn't entirely true, I did kind of want a few moments to myself so that I could at least to settle down and maybe get some friends that were normal. 

"Okay, but just remember what we said before." After a reassuring answer from me, Allison finally left with Chris. I put down my brush and got to fixing up my make up. While doing so I couldn't help but think about the fact that I would probably have to tell everyone about my own secrets. I was not really into that idea, not because it was hard but because I knew that it would become this huge thing. If it came up I would handle it, but it was definitely a conversation I wouldn't instigate on my own. 

When I finished my make up I felt ready to leave. I hoped that everyone would just leave me be and let me have my normal day. The chances of that were small, but a girl could always hope!

•••

One of the more stupid things I had done was signing up for cross-country. Why had I ever thought that it would be a good idea? Sure, I was pretty decent at running and it was a great place to meet more people. The thing was just that I wasn't exactly the type to join activities like that. Also, Scott was there and so were the twins. Scott wasn't alone, he had a couple of friends with him. From the way they were also staring at me I just guessed that they were somehow involved in the supernatural mess too. 

I tried to keep as far away from the werewolves as possible, but it was tough. Even though they all seemed a little bit reluctant to actually go up and talk to me, they never kept to far away from me. If it hadn't been for my expertise in avoidance I would have probably had to talk to them earlier during classes. 

Scott's two friends were cute. One had light brown locks and light blue eyes. He was a bit taller than Scott and his other friend. That friend was pretty lanky with a darker shade of brown hair. His eyes were big and brown, warm. If anything, all three of them seemed soft in a way that the twins definitely didn't. 

After having stretched a little, preparing myself for the run, I lined up with everyone else who were going to run. Just as the whistle blew I felt a small vibration in my pocket. I ignored it and instead I simply started running. At first I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings, just picking up speed as I let my mind drift. It wasn't until I focused my vision on the two figures up front that I felt my competitive side kick in. Even though I really didn't want to have a conversation with the twins, I felt a strong need to... tease them. Show them that they shouldn't see me as someone weak.

Picking up my speed more, feeling my pulse rising, I reached them quickly and fell into a close third place. Then, with a cocky smirk, I passed them. I thought about sending a wink their way but instead I just kept my vision straight forward, ignoring them. I really thought that would bother them much more. I was right.

The sound of a growl met my ears as the two caught up with me. Instead of passing me, taking me up on the unspoken competition I had suggested, they kept at my pace. Even though this bothered me, the possibility of a conversation starting, I didn't let anything show on my face. Instead I just kept staring straight ahead and acted as if they weren't there.

"Are you going to tell us what you are or are we going to have to force it out of you?", Aiden asked with a hidden threat behind his words. I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes for a few seconds. Then I put on a bitter smile while slowing down slightly. His words had no impact on me.

"Scott won't be there to protect you next time", Aiden's brother muttered which was what finally got me to stop. The other students were far behind us so I could easily start a small confrontation without having anyone seeing us. So when the two twins stopped and turned towards me and I straightened my back, I gave them a killing stare.

"Okay, listen to me carefully! I don't need Scott to protect me, or anyone for the matter. If either of you even give me a weird look I will fuck both of you up so bad that you'll wish Scott would have been there to protect me. Because when I say that you two aren't a threat to me, I speak from experience. So... you two furries can scurry along and I'll just live my peaceful life while you do you", I told them with a steady voice, meeting both of their eyes. Aiden frowned and was about to take a step closer to me when all three of us noticed a new guest joining us. It was Scott's curly haired friend. 

"Remember what I said." With a smile I turned away from the three guys and started to jog off. I didn't really care about why the curly guy had come to us, but it had really benefitted me. If I got the chance I would give him a thanks for giving me a clean getaway. For now, I would just keep up with my exercising. 

•••

I had probably gotten lost, to be honest. It was the sound of someone's scream that finally led me back to the group. As I rushed there I was both curious and slightly frightened of what I might see. A big heap of students were surrounding a tree, which I found pretty strange. It wasn't until I got closer that I understood why and suddenly the scream I had heard made sense. A body, a teenage guy, was tied to said tree and from all of the blood I didn't have to doubt him being dead. 

My heart beat fast as I stumbled backwards. It was a horrid sight, one that brought back many memories. One of them was when I had found Alaric at home, covered in blood. It was hard to keep my breath even as I could feel the panic rise within me. It was then that I also felt a strong grip on my arm and I was dragged away from the crowd. It didn't calm me one bit and I could feel my body shaking slightly as I struggled to breath. 

"Damon?" I was spun around and my voice was distant as I couldn't really comprehend what I saw in front of me. I had to close my eyes and focus on calming down, take many deep breaths, before I could finally open my eyes. Then I felt calm and collected again. Thankfully.

"What the hell are you doing here?", I asked in surprise, my eyebrows knitting together in annoyed confusion. My mind was finally catching up with what was going on and I just realized that _Damon_  was in _Beacon Hills._ He was right there in front of me. I couldn't say I was exactly happy to see him. 

Although, that bitterness seemed to slowly drip away as Damon's arms roughly pulled me in for a hug. For a second I was just stood there in stunned stiffness. Then, with a sigh, I let my arms softly wrap around his middle. Whatever had him reacting like that, he clearly did seem happy that I was there. 

"You scared the living crap out of me", he whispered just before he, reluctantly, let me go. I was confused by his words as I took a step back and looked up at him with bewilderment. Damon, after having studied my face for a second seemed to realize that I didn't know what I was talking about. 

 "The phone call the other day. I thought that something terrible had happened to you and since you also didn't answer before, I thought you were dead", Damon explained and the realization dawned on me quickly. After that cliffhanger Damon must have thought I was dead, of course! And I had completely forgotten to call him back. 

"Oh shit! Damon, I'm _so_ sorry! I'm fine and I forgot to call you back." I felt a little bit embarrassed about how irresponsible I had been. I had just let him worry and even though I know that it wasn't on purpose or voluntarily, I felt like I should have done something differently. That I could have done something differently. 

"Are you two done with your little heart to hear? Can we leave?" I would have known the bitterness,  _bitchyness,_ to that voice any day of the week. My whole body froze and I hoped that I was really wrong and that I had just imagined the voice. However, as she moved out from behind Damon I knew that I had been right and that I would lose it. 

"Oh _fuck_ no!" I was rushing towards her in no time, ready to kill her with my bare hands if I had to. Before I could get very far though, as Damon got a hold on me and held me back. If he hadn't had his vampire strength I would have gotten out of his grip without a single problem. All I could think about was Katherine killing my brother and I was just overrun by rage. If only I had, had a wooden stake. 

"There we have her, Ms. Overdramatic", Katherine scoffed with a daring smirk as she took a few steps closer to me. I tried to get out of Damon's grip again but it was impossible. It was probably good because I don't think it would have looked normal if I had suddenly jumped onto her, trying to strangle her. Not when we were only a couple of meters away from the rest of the students. They weren't on my mind though and I didn't worry about it. 

"Are you alright, Hannah?", Aiden suddenly asked as he came up to me with his twin. His voice brought me back to myself and I stopped struggling against Damon. The grip on me loosened as Damon realized that I wouldn't try to maul Katherine anymore. I was able to take a step closer to Aiden and then I turned to look at the two vampires behind me. Something told me that this was a disaster waiting to happen. 

On one end there was a psychotic bitch and a handsome serial killer. One the other I had a... half-werewolf with, what I suspected was, anger issues. The only people I could hope would listen to me were Damon and Katherine. So, I gave them a pointed look that told them to behave, which I really hoped they would listen to. 

"This is none of your business, so just go away", I told him with a tight smile, trying to get him away with just the power of my eyes. Of course this did nothing but intrigue him and he and his twin gave each other a look. 

"Everything alright, Hannah?" Scott and his little group had decided to join us and I just wanted to scream. Why was I suddenly so popular that everyone just wanted to care about me so damn much?! I would have literally preferred it if they had stared at us from a distance rather than get mixed up in all of this.

I jumped slightly when I felt an arm slide around my waist. When I looked to my side and saw Damon standing there with a smirk I wanted to scream. Of course he wouldn't listen to me and behave. Oh no! That smirk meant that he would do all he could to worsen my situation. The fact that Katherine was also there only meant that he had lost basically all of his self-control and maturity. Lovely!

"Everything is _perfect!_  Can all of you just leave?", I asked them, almost whinging like a child. My irritation and exasperation was making me want to just walk away from all of them but I worked hard to stay. Why were all of the Beacon Hills guys so eager to stay and not listen to me? 

"Come on, Hannah! Don't be so rude to your friends. I would love to meet them", Damon scolded me jokingly and the look I gave him was the closest I had ever gotten to having death in my eyes. That is, until Katherine walked up to my other side. Had she touched me I would have actually screamed, but she was wise enough to not do so. 

"They aren't my friends", I quickly told Damon as I tried to show him that he really should stop whatever it was he was trying to do. Apparently he was just as obvious as anyone else. Just walking off seemed better for every second that passed. 

"Well, now I'm hurt", Aiden said, feigning a hurt look before smirking my way. Since my annoyance clearly hadn't worked I instead decided to take a calmer approach. With a deep breath I looked into Aiden's eyes with a smile that must have been strange to see at that point. 

"Do you remember what we talked about earlier during the run? Yeah, I would think about that before talking if I were you." The smirk finally disappeared from Aiden's lips. Success! Finally! I was so happy that I was finally able to do something to stop possible chaos. 

"I'm Katherine", the vampire at my side suddenly said as she introduced herself to Aiden and I put my hand against my forehead. Never mind, I forgot that I was dealing with Katherine. No matter what I did I couldn't stop her. I might as well have given up... but maybe...

"I thought you were done with those _types_ of guys after Mason", I told her as I looked her straight in the eyes and saw how realization dawned on her. Right then it seemed as if Damon too seemed to realize that I was serious about these people. 

Katherine's eyes turned into slits and she quickly stepped back from the group of guys in front of us. I smiled but it quickly disappeared when Damon pushed me behind him. Okay, I hadn't thought that through. Once thing would stop the psycho but I forgot about Damon's obsession with protecting me. Maybe I had only made things worse. Whops! 

"Something you forgot to mention?", Damon muttered to me but I had no idea what I was going to answer. The Beacon Hills group looked from Damon to Katherine weirdly. Damon and Katherine were looking at the Beacon Hills guys with hate. I had no idea what to do anymore. That thing about walking off into the woods seemed better than ever at that point.

"I'm Stiles by the way, you know if anyone was wondering", the lanky guy from Scott's group said awkwardly. The randomness of his comment got me chuckling a little. That earned me a smile and a wink from Stiles, while Damon simply glared towards me. Stiles was my new favorite, hands down. His timing was impeccable. With a sigh I shook my head and stepped back from both of the groups.

"I think we should leave the introductions for another time. I have a history test to steady for and I really don't want to miss reading about some dead people", I said before departing from the group. I had realized a little late that I walking off truly was the only way to stop disaster. The problems weren't completely gone though, and I wasn't naive enough to think so. I was an expert at avoiding things though and I would do so until I no longer could. The solution to my problems would come when I needed them... I hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! So this took a little while to finish but I've been in London so I didn't have my computer. Well, here it is so I hope you like it!! If you do you are as always welcome to leave kudos or comment! Thank you!!!! 
> 
> Sofija xxxx


	8. Helping

The sound of my fingers impatiently tapping on my desk was starting to drive even me mad. I could only imagine how everyone else in class felt. Since many of them were werewolves it must have been driving them mad. Since I felt at least one pair of eyes on my nerves only grew worse and the tapping continued. 

After the small confrontation the previous day I just knew that everyone had questions and I couldn't say that I was very interested in answering. The fact that I had basically disappeared and not talked to anyone probably only made everyone more curious, including Damon. 

Speaking of Damon. He clearly didn't underatand the concept of school. The entire previous afternoon I hadn't heard a single word from him, but as soon as second period had started to roll around my phone hadn't stopped buzzing. Because of this annoying inconvenience I had been forced to turn my phone off, especially after the looks I was getting from Mr Harris. 

”Mr. Harris, can I use the bathroom, please?” The words suddenly brought me out of my anxious thoughts. It had been Scott's friend, the one who's name I didn't know. After having been excused by the teacher he was out of the room. 

I was just about to get back to my obnoxious tapping shen my eyes passed by Scott and I saw his facial expression. To put it simply, it wasn't good. For whatever reason Scott looked as if his friend going to the bathroom was dangerous. Scott's eyes then met mine for just a second, before something seemed to light a spark in him and he was on his feet.

"I have to go to the bathroom too!" It wasn't exactly a valiant effort, but at least Scott tried. The teacher wasn't having the excuse though, insisting that he could wait until his friend got back. From the alarming look on Scott's face he disagreed, but only internally as he got back in his seat. His whole behavior freaked me out a little bit and what was the worst was that I kind of liked it... It was like a kick for a drug addict. I could just see the trouble and I knew that there was something going on and a small part of me craved to be involved. I hated that part of myself because I knew, _I really knew_ , how much I just wanted to stay out of it all. 

It didn't take long for the mysterious trouble to reveal itself as the whole class was soon reached by the sound of some ruckus outside the classroom. Mr. Harris didn't protest as the whole class followed him to see what was going on. I went with everyone, even though I knew that whatever had happened wouldn't look too good and that Mr. Harris wouldn't like what he would see. I was right.

"What is this? What's going on?" I took in the sight in front of me as the teacher blew up. Aiden's twin was on the floor, all bloody and beaten. Scott's friend stood right in front of him, looking pretty shocked as he seemed to realize what was going on. I wouldn't have put it past him to actually have hurt the twin, but by the look on his face I was fairly certain that he hadn't caused those injuries. However, he looked pretty guilty and there wasn't anything he could say that would exonerate him.  

By the look of it, the teacher would probably be busy with the two teens for the rest of the class. As I came to that realization I started to back away from the rest of my class. If I got away quickly I might've been able to avoid Scott for a little bit longer. I knew that I was only prolonging the inevitable, but that didn't mean that I wouldn't try until I was unable to run anymore. 

Not really knowing where else to go, I decided that I would just head outside for some fresh air. It could maybe help clear my head and if I was lucky enough I could possibly come up with a way to not feel as if every problem was rushing over me without me being able to control or handle any of it. 

"Why didn't you tell me that there were werewolves here?" So, I wasn't that lucky. I turned my head towards the sound and saw Damon standing at the bottom of the stairs, leading out of the school. I sighed slightly, feeling as if I once again had to face something I didn't want to face.

"Damon, when was I supposed to tell you? I didn't exactly want to ruin our heartfelt reunion with something so unimportant, especially since they aren't real werewolves. According to Klaus they were created from some virus or something." My voice sounded more tired than I had intended it to, but thankfully I was able to put some sarcasm in there. Also, Damon didn't at least comment on it. 

"Wait, you talked to Klaus?", Damon asked with raised eyebrows. I could hear a little bit of hurt in his voice and I understood why. No one, including Damon, knew that I was closer to him than I probably should have been. We weren't anything more than friends anymore so it didn't matter, but I knew that we were probably the only two who would see it like that. I wasn't about to give our secret away and I knew that if I just made a minor mistake I could fuck it up. 

"Yeah, of course. It's not like I know any other walking supernatural encyclopedia that would answer my questions without asking anything in return", I explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Either I was very convincing or it just seemed impossible that there could be any other reason for me to talk to Klaus, because Damon bought my explanation just like that. 

"Okay, it's not like it matters anyway", Damon commented which made me frown. I didn't really understand what he was getting at and when I met Damon's eyes I saw that maybe this wasn't as obvious as he might've tried to make it sound. 

"Yeah, since we're leaving. Just tell me when you're ready." My face dropped and I looked down at my shoes. I didn't want to fight Damon on this anymore. I didn't want to do all of this again. It wasn't until I looked up again and saw Damon's face that I realized how empty of sureness they had actually been. He had only hoped for me to come with, even though he knew that those chances were small. 

"Damon... I'm not coming home", I said as I stepped closer to him. There was sadness in my voice, not because I was saying but because it hurt to part from Damon. Even though his actions had hurt me when he had just ignored me during the worst time in my life, he meant a lot to me. He was like family. I could see in his face that he wasn't about to try to convince me. 

"Please, just take care of yourself and be careful. We can't have Elena being all alone when we get her back, right?" I wasn't about to comment on his _when_ instead of _if_. To be honest, I appreciated that he at least sounded certain about this. I might've lost hope but if he believed he could do something about it, then maybe things weren't as dark as I first had thought.

Before Damon left I gave him a tight hug, taking in every last second of him being there. I promised to call and keep him updated. I promised that I wouldn't just forget about him because I wasn't around him all the time. In return, he promised that he would save Elena and he promised that he would do whatever he could do insure that Mystic Falls would be a home I wanted to return to. 

Then I let him leave and I just felt so emotional. Not only because of Damon, but because of what he reminded me of. The brotherly love he showed me wasn't too different from the one Jeremy had showed me. I had to distract myself, because I couldn't think of him. Not without being unsure about whether I would have a total breakdown. 

So, I headed back into school with one clear motive. To distract myself from the pain that building in my heart and the thoughts that were starting to cloud my mind. At least I wasn't too concerned about whether I should avoid Scott anymore. Quite frankly, I would have loved to finally be confronted by him because I knew that it would only mean that I wouldn't think of Jeremy. In a way my problem was solved. I would get involved, even if it only was because I had to do something that would keep my mind occupied. And from experience I knew that supernatural drama would do the trick. 

•••

When lunch rolled around I had become certain that there were some supernatural powers in play, and that whoever controlled them had some evil sense of humor. For some reason I hadn't seen a single glimpse of Scott since Mr. Harris' class. Still, school had distracted me a little bit. I was feeling restless though because I just waited for something to happen. I needed something to happen because if there wasn't something grabbing my attention I couldn't keep my mind off my demons. 

Apparently, I didn't have to wait that long. I didn't even need to reach the cafeteria before the sound of some sort of commotion reached my ear. It sounded as if it was in a hallway a little further down and I rushed towards it. My curiosity and my need for a distraction mixed and I wasn't really sure which one of them was my main motivator anymore. 

In the hallway I finally found Scott. I also found his curly haired friend and Allison. From the looks of it, something strange had happened. Scott was on top of his friend, it looked like they were fighting. Allison were by the door of the janitor's closet and I could spot two shallow cuts on her arm. In the middle of everything laid a snack machine. 

"Isaac!" The authority in Scott's voice made his friend, Isaac I presumed, quiver a little before he relaxed. Maybe relaxed wasn't the best way to put it. He seemed tamed, but scared and sad as everything going on seemed to finally dawn on him. I didn't understand why Scott's voice had suddenly seemed to affect Isaac so strongly but there was a lot about this part of the supernatural world that I didn't understand. 

"Allison," Scott spoke as his attention turned to her and he rushed over to her with worry written all over his face. It was then that I decided to come closer and make my presence clear. The way that Isaac had started to apologize to Allison, in a frantic way, rubbed me the wrong way. I just hoped that this would turn into something big between the three. Not when the only injury was so small. 

"Take it easy, there. She'll live." I crouched down in front of Isaac, who was still hunched over slightly on the ground. His eyes were wide when they met mine, as if he had no idea what to say or do. I tried to give him a reassuring look while also being comforting. I had to keep in mind that things weren't the same as in Mystic Falls here. This might be a big thing to them, and I just had to calmly be there to calm the situation. 

"Believe, I've seen bites, scratches and everything in between. I even the scars to prove it, and the jarring memories. This isn't as bad as you might feel that it is." Isaac didn't seem that convinced, only more confused. I put my hand on his arm in a reassuring way and noticed how he at first jerked away slightly from the touch, which only made me try to look even more harmless.

"Seriously, don't worry..." For a second I debated on whether I should tell him the story I had in mind, but then I just figured to go for it. "You know, my sister once stabbed me in the neck with a kitchen knife." I moved my hair to the side and showed the faint scar. It was clearly not as distinct as it should've been but vampire blood would do that to the healing.

"W-what?" The story seemed to have worked wonders because Isaac no longer looked as confused, but more concerned and slightly weirded out. I just shrugged my shoulders as if it was no big deal, which I didn't think it was, even though it would have been a huge deal to most people. It didn't matter though, because once I got up and offered my hand to Isaac, he took it without hesitation and all signs of his previous fright and sadness was gone. 

"I clearly survived! I mean, it's like not even on my top five almost deaths." Maybe joking wasn't the easiest way to handle Scott, Allison and Isaac's concern but it was the only way I knew how to. Although, Scott and Allison looked as if they wanted to ask me a million question, while Isaac only looked as if he didn't know whether to hug me or run from me. 

"We can talk about this later. Now, back to what was going on before I came." I tried to steer the three of them away from my life and the insanity of it. Scott immediately took the bait and his whole demeanor turned serious. When he looked back at Allison and Isaac there was determination in his eyes and I could see that he was ready to take action, even though I had no idea towards whom. 

"I guess we know they want to do more than get you angry. They want to get someone hurt", Scott said, confusing me as to who he was talking about. It was like I had just been dropped in the middle of a conversation and I felt slightly lost. After going through all of the people I had met and the possibility of them fighting with Scott I had a small list of who I thought he could be talking about. Said list consisted of a total of two people, Aiden and his twin. The incident from earlier that day only made it seem more plausible. 

"So are we gonna do something?", Isaac asked eagerly. To me it seemed obvious that they were going to do something, or rather I would do force them to do something if they said they wouldn't. There was no way to solve supernatural quarrels by being pacifistic. If they wanted to stop the twins they had to show them that they couldn't mess with them. 

"Yeah. I'm gonna get them angry. Really angry", Scott said which got me smirking. Maybe I wasn't directly involved with everything but I couldn't help but be interested. Creating some mischief sounded good and I was so ready to get back at Aiden for chasing me the other day. 

"I can definitely help with that", I told them which made the three teenagers look at me suspiciously. I shrugged at them as if to show that it was their choice, even though it wasn't. I was going to help them, even if it was just to make sure they didn't get themselves killed.

•••

"Aiden, I didn't see you there", I greeted, trying hard to contain the smirk I had on my lips. I had just deliberately walked past him and like I had suspected he hadn't been able to resist talking to me. Even though I might've been a little freaked out at what Aiden might do, just the thought of what would happen later filled me with joy. There was nothing like the happiness one could get from annoying someone else.

"Sure, Hannah. Let's say that's true." I swallowed hard, trying to keep up the act of innocent but suspicious girl. As long as he thought that I just wanted to keep quiet about my own past everything was fine. He wouldn't suspect that there was any foul play.

"Aiden... Could you just please don't... ask me anything. I have no reason nor do I want to tell you about this. I mean why would I when I don't know you", I told him in an exasperated voice while waving my hand around as if to gesture every word I said. 

"And what if I promised to not ask you any questions." His words were suggestive and I couldn't stop my mind from going back to the time we had made out in the empty classroom, just before Damon had called and shit had gone down. It was a good thing though, that I couldn't control my thoughts, because that only meant that the blush on my cheeks and my heart picking up it's pace was authentic. 

"That was before things changed. Now you could promise me the world and I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole", I told him and the words were honest, even if I made them come out more uncertain. He had to think I was really easy if he thought I would just suddenly change my mind about him. Sure, making out with him had been nice but that didn't mean that I would just throw myself at him because of his weak attempt at sweet-talking.

"You sure? It doesn't sound like it", Aiden commented as a smirk made it's way onto his lips. He took a step closer, trapping me between him and the lockers. I gasped silently, looking up at him as if I had an inner dilemma. As if I was trying resist him, even though I was just waiting for the damn bell to ring already so I could be done with this. 

"Maybe you should check your hearing then", I muttered and there was way less disinterest in my voice than I would have used if I was not playing him. Then I let my eyes flicker down to his lips before going back to his eyes. Aiden was just leaning in when the sweet sound of the bell filled our ears. For a second I forgot what I was doing and I let a smirk show as I glanced of to the side. When I turned back to Aiden I could see confusion on his face and I realized that it was completely useless going back to acting.

"See you in class", I told him as I pushed him back and started to walk away. My mood had changed completely and I even turned around to see Aiden staring at me with a puzzled expression. That was when I sent him a wink before turning back around to walk off towards class where I would meet Scott and see if he had done what he was supposed to. 

"How did it go?", Scott asked as I came up to him where he had been waiting outside the classroom. The smile was still playing on my lips and I chuckled slightly as I leaned on the wall next to him. 

"As long as you did your part then everything's working out perfectly", I told him and I could see that he too was enjoying all of this, even though he might've not shown it was much as me. There was just this small glee in his eyes, a childish excitement. 

"Put this in your bag", he then said as he gave me something that looked like a motorcycle part. I turned it over in my hand even though I already knew that I had no idea what it was. I knew where it came from though but that didn't explain why Scott had decided to give the part to me. 

I listened to what Scott had said and put the part in my back pack before following him inside the classroom, just seconds before Aiden and his twin, Ethan, came through the door. I grabbed Scott's shirt as if to tell him to wait and let the twins get seated before letting go. I then took a seat next to Aiden while Scott sat down by Ethan. Just before the lesson started I saw Scott turn to the twins and give them a shit eating grin. I chuckled at the look of it, which grabbed the twins attention as they turned to me.

"This looks kind of important", Scott then said, grabbing the twins' attention once more, as he then proceeded to take out a motorcycle part from his bag. It then hit me why I had gotten one as well. I really liked where this was going. 

"I don't know about you Scott, but I have no idea what this thing does", I then said as I put the part Scott had given me on the table, twirling it with my fingers. I met Aiden's eyes and it was as if he was starting to put together my previous behavior and what was going on at the moment. As if he then heard something I couldn't, which was probably true, he looked towards the classroom door. 

Neither Scott nor I needed to do anything else as Aiden was then bolting out of the classroom while Ethan called for him to stop. This grabbed the class' attention but after Aiden was out there wasn't anything anyone could do so everyone turned to teacher once again. Well, everyone except Scott, Ethan and I. We knew what was coming. 

Not much later the sound of a motorcycle became clearer and clearer which brought the attention away from class. The teacher, Ms. Blake, hurried out of the classroom with everyone following. Scott and I met up with Allison and Isaac where we then made our way to the front of the small ring that had formed. In the middle of it stood Aiden with his motorcycle.

"You have got to be kidding me. You realize this is going to result in a suspension?", Ms. Blake said and that was when Aiden turned to our group, realization hitting him. All four of us just there grinning and I even sent him a little wave. He looked furious, which only got us to feel even better about what was going on. If he wanted to be an ass and hurt people he really needed to be prepared for the consequences. At that moment I really didn't feel bad about being involved. Actually, it felt pretty damn great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for taking so long to post the next chapter. I've been on vacation and without my computer so I had to edit this when I got home! Hope you liked it and thanks for reading!!!


	9. Horrible Plan

School was over, the whole ordeal with the twins was over and that was the moment I got cornered. Okay, it might've been more like Scott and Allison came to the kitchen while I was making a cup of tea and said we needed to talk. It seemed like too much of a hassle to run away from them with a scolding drink in my hand so I finally gave up and let them sit me down to have a conversation. 

Scott wasn't supposed to be at the apartment, but Chris wasn't home at the moment and he wouldn't be home for a while so it was fine. It had actually been pretty clever of him to come to the apartment, because I had thought that I was safe at home, although that proved to be wrong. It was fine though, at one point this had to happen. 

"You guys wanted to do this so I would have thought that you would know what to say", I commented to fill the silence that had grown in-between us from the moment we had sat down in the living room. Allison and Scott shared a glance as if asking the other if they wanted to start. I smiled at them, at the fact that they both seemed as if they would have been a cute couple. It was a pity that they had broken up.

"Okay... I guess I will start. Please do tell me your life story, starting from the moment interesting stuff started to happen." I was talking to Scott, solely because he was the werewolf-thingy in the room. Sure, Allison's life must've also been turned upside down in some way and it would have been interesting to hear that too but I had a feeling that Scott was the one to turn to when it came to things like this. He seemed to be a leader of some sort for the group and I saw a huge possibility of he having been the start of all of this. 

"Sure, let's start there. It was the day before lacrosse tryouts and Stiles and I were going to look for a body..."

•••

"Okay, so there are werewolves and kanimas and scary hunters... but no vampires. To be honest, I thought I would have been more prepared for this but nope! At least I know how it feels to have people wanting to kill you all the time, so I can probably help with the alpha thing." I chuckled a little as I felt slightly overwhelmed by everything that I had just heard. Sure, it might've not been the most insane thing, but it was pretty peculiar. 

"Yeah... Are you serious about there being vampires though? Like, actual vampires?", Allison wondered as she stared at me with widens. Of course I had felt compelled them about me too. I hadn't told them every single detail, but the most vital things. I told them that I knew about vampires and werewolves and that I had been through a lot. 

"They burn in the sun and all, if they don't get a witch to fix that for them." Both Scott and Allison seemed slightly confused by that but I didn't feel like going into detail. It wasn't like this would be of any use to any of them anyways. Not at the moment at least. 

"I just don't get one thing though... What do the alphas want? Why are they even here and why are they fucking with you like this?", I asked to quickly change the subject. It was something that had stuck to my mind, something I couldn't exactly understand. It seemed so strange that they would even be there just to patronize Scott and his friends. To be honest, it wasn't something I would have expected them to bother with. 

"We don't exactly know what they want", Scott told me while scratching the back of his head. Well then, if we don't know what they wanted we had to think about what we knew. One of those things were that they wanted to hurt people, possibly kill. From my experience I knew that killing was often a big part of the things bad guys did. I stood up from the couch and looked at the bother two teenagers in front of me.

"Then I guess it's a priority to figure that out? Right?" I gave Allison and Scott a confused glance as they seemed to be looking at each other with hesitation. Instead of questioning it I just waited for the two of them to decide on what they were gonna tell me.  

"Actually, we were thinking about going to meet up with some people we know. They probably know more about this than we", Scott told me while watching me with a cautious eye. I didn't really understand why he was looking at me like that but I guessed that there was a pretty good reason for it. 

"Okay, sure! Should we leave right now?", I wondered as I got up from the couch. Neither Allison nor Scott moved and I turned to look at them with slight exasperation in my eye. 

"Are either of you going to tell me why you're both acting so strange or should we just keep pretending that your not?", I asked them with a tight and tired smile while motioning for both of them to do something, anything really. I just couldn't take more of their weird and awkward attitude. 

"It's just pretty strange that you don't have a bigger reaction to all of this. I mean, I get that you probably had a bigger reaction when you learned about all of this, but it's still weird." I chuckled lightly and started to head towards the front door. Then, as I passed Scott I reached my hand out and ruffled his hair. 

"You're right about that Scotty", I told him as I turned to give him a cheeky grin. I then saw how he and Allison followed me. It seemed as if they hadn't really gotten over their initial strange feeling, but at they weren't acting as awkward anymore. 

Allison and I were following Scott inside the elevator and before I had even time to reflect on the fact that someone was already in it, I was pushed out. Well, both Allison and I were pushed out. Before I could get back inside the door started to shut and we were left outside. 

"What was that about?", I wondered while turning to Allison, who looked scared. Something was clearly wrong, something I had missed. However, from the look on Allison's facial expression I knew that she knew exactly what was going on. 

"That was Deucalion, the leader of the alpha pack", Allison said in a grim voice and I made a mental note to remember the look of him and his name. Apparently I had to stay away from the blind man in our building. 

•••

"We know where they are", Scott declared in an out of breath voice as the two of us came rushing into a loft. Allison had stayed at home after a call from Chris, informing us that he was only five minutes away from home. Apparently she wasn't supposed to get involved with all of this, neither of them should. I had not made any sort of promise about that though so I was free to go. 

"Same building as the Argents. We know." The voice was familiar and so was the face. I couldn't help but smirk slightly as I recognized the ever so handsome face of Derek. Okay, calm down Hannah! He sure had the looks and I might've had a pretty civil conversation with him not too long ago but I couldn't just lose my shit because I thought a guy was hot. 

"Wait, who's she?", he said and I gasped in mock horror. I couldn't tell if he was actually serious or if he was just trying to act as if he had never seen me. As I flipped my hair theatrically over my shoulder I gave him a venomous smile.

"Hannah, nice to see you again. Although the fact that you pic up girls who you apparently don't even know is very disturbing. Maybe, it's not nice seeing you again." I was disappointed by the lack of reaction. All he did was roll his eye before turning back to Scott, as if he just dismissed me. 

"'Oh, I'm sorry for being rude. Please bless us with your great supernatural knowledge'", I muttered, once again grabbing the attention from Derek. However he wasn't the only one who's attention I had gotten. The two other guys in the room and the girl all eyed me suspiciously. 

"Okay, so what's up with you?", asked the oldest of the bunch, looking at me as if he was ready to pounce at any moment. I didn't exactly feel like bringing up my whole life story so I quickly decided to give them the quick version.

"Well, I come from this very small town with quickly decreasing population called Mystic Falls in Virginia. Don't worry, I don't expect any of you to have heard about it", I told them and my assumption seemed to have been correct. No one seemed to really get what my home town had to do with anything, well no one except that old guy.

"Vampires? Seriously, Scott? Did you have to bring vampires into this?" I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I couldn't help but feel slightly impressed. Someone had clearly done their homework on supernatural lore. He got a few minus points though since he hadn't been able to figure out that I was in fact human. 

"Not a vampire, just so you know. I do have some in the family though and people always tells me I look like my sister. And well... My sister looks a lot like her dopplegänger so I see how you could have gotten confused about that." The guy seemed slightly surprised at the fact that I had decided to speak up again. He seemed like the type of person who was used with people being intimidated by him all the time, but I wasn't that easily scared. 

"Slow down, vampires?", Derek questioned in a disbelieving voice. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at that. Sure, because werewolves and kanimas were totally believable, but vampires is where you have to draw the line. That, of all things, is unbelievable. Okay... I had been a little bit startled at seeing their type of werewolves but that's different. When you think you know a creature it's weird seeing it turn into something else. 

"Yes! I seriously don't see the point of being surprised, all things considered", I commented while vaguely motioning with my hand towards everyone in the room. Derek looked at me as if he wanted to argue the point, but even he saw how ridiculous it would be. So he reluctantly stayed quiet. 

"And from what I can tell your sister must be Elena Gilbert, which then makes you... human", the older guy then said as he seemed to be putting the pieces together. I had to say, he surprised me with his knowledge about Mystic Falls. Although, the fact that he knew stuff about me and my family was a bit creepy. 

"I haven't said anything else, have I? People are always just assuming, you know?" He chuckled at my words and was about to answer with what looked something witty. Before he could do that, he was interrupted by Derek, who didn't seem that amused by this discussion. 

"This isn't important. Can we get back to the plan?", Derek sighed in irritation, which brought the focus back to him. I looked to Scott, who seemed to first now realize how much we had gone off track. A frown formed on his forehead as he returned to serious.

"What plan? Derek, what are you going to do?" The tone was accusing, as if Scott could tell that whatever Derek had in my wasn't ideal. No, actually, it sounded more as if Scott suspected whatever to come out of Derek's mouth to be horrifying.

"We're going after them. Tomorrow", Derek said simply, giving us no details and no real information. It sounded more as if he didn't know the details though, as if nothing was planned yet. Actually, Derek was looking at Scott in a calculating way. One that, to me at least, spoke volumes.

"You need our help", I stated as I looked at the werewolves in the room. Everyone but Scott seemed to be giving me a suspicious glance. I was right, and they didn't like that I could read them that easily.

"No, I don't need _your_ help. I need _their_ help." I would have been offended at Derek's comment, if it hadn't been for the fact that I could understand why he wouldn't trust me. I was a stranger who had walked into town with way too much baggage and crazy stories. Still, it was foolish of them not to accept my help. Everything that made me suspicious also made me so much more resourceful. 

"Okay, then! If you don't need me, then what's the plan? Are you just going to storm the fort all at once? You know, gather all your forces and go after them? I can tell you, from experience, that it's just a recipe for disaster." My voice was a little bit harsher than I had intended. Still, if Derek wanted to be blunt with me I wouldn't hold back on him. Maybe harsh was the only language he spoke.

"Hannah, you don't have to be a part of this. Let us handle it." If I hadn't heard those words before! It brought a small tinge of pain to my heart, just being reminded of all the times I had been pushed to the side because no one wanted me to get hurt. In the end, it had all just ended with someone else being targeted. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if someone would have ever let me put in my two cents. 

"For fucks sake", I started in a sigh while rubbing my forehead. "Have any of you _ever_ gone up against something that is so much stronger than you? Have any of you ever had to basically fight an army?" I gave everyone a harsh look, which most seemed to want to avoid. The only one who kept their eyes on my was the older guy, although he seemed a little bit uncomfortable with my words. 

"Guess what? I have. I know that whatever you're all gonna plan, it's not gonna go well. Sadly, I take on too much responsibility so could you possibly spare me the pain and let me help you?" I didn't need to wait for an answer to know what it would be. I wanted to scream, but instead I just shook my head with a huff. Fine, if they wanted to die... No, I couldn't even finish that sentence. It wasn't fine with me, but I couldn't force them to listen. 

"They won't see it coming, so it'll be perfect", the third guy in the room said. He was well built and had dark skin. He stood next to the only other girl in the room, who looked as if she agreed with him. 

"Why is the default plan always murder? Just once, can someone try to come up with something that doesn't involve killing everyone?" Scott's answer was passionate, if a little bit naive. I wanted to say something, but I stayed quiet. In reality, I wanted to leave. The only problem was that I had gone there with Scott and I had no way of getting back if I left. 

"You never get tired of being so blandly moral, do you? Not that I disagree with him." The older guy seemed to not like the plan that Derek had come up with, if there even was one. The fact that he didn't agree with Derek made all of this worse, since he had seemed to be on their side. 

"Why do we need that kid?", the girl said in clear annoyance. Was this really what all of them were like? A bunch of children who couldn't even agree on a plan. I didn't even care anymore, I couldn't listen to this disaster anymore. 

"You know what? Fuck it, I'll walk back if I have to. You guys are going to get someone killed and I'm not going to stand here to watch you plan a suicide. You've got so far to go if you want to come out of this alive, none the less if you want to win. If you're going to stand here and squabble all the time, you might as well start running now. If you go tomorrow, someone will get hurt." I ended my dramatic monologue by turning around and storming out. It felt quite good to get that off my chest, but I couldn't help but also feel a weight in my stomach that told me I was probably right. 

Scott, Derek, all of them. They had to learn how to comprise and how to work together. They weren't a pack and they didn't work as one when they clearly needed to. Not only that, they were way to naive. If Scott really thought that everyone on both sides would come out of this alive, he had something else coming. I just hoped he realized that before it actually happened. 

•••

I could hear Allison arguing with Chris in his office. I was locked inside my room, trying to distract myself from what I knew was going on at the moment. It was hard, but I couldn't do anything else. If I let myself think about it then I knew that I would spiral into a worried frenzy. 

Even though I was mad at them, it didn't mean that I wanted anything to happen to them. I didn't want anyone to die, but I felt as if there was nothing I could do to stop it. I just hoped it would be someone else, someone in the alpha pack. I just hoped that I at least wouldn't have to wake up to Allison or Chris telling me that someone we knew was dead. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! So school is back, which means I have barely any time to write... But I will keep updating but they won't come as often as before! I hope y'all liked this part and if you did then please leave a comment or kudos!! Thank you for reading!!! ❤️
> 
> Sofija


	10. Bonding

It had been an awful day, to be honest. Not only had I been basically alone because everyone was off to a track meet. No, I was also caught up on the thoughts that Derek was dead. A sardonic part of me was feeling a little bit smug at the fact that I had been right about what would happen. The rest of me just felt kind of awful.

I hadn't personally known Derek that well. To be honest, our few moments spent together I had felt like screaming at him. That wasn't the best way to build a good relationship between two people. Still, I couldn't feel good about the fact that he was dead. It just made me so frustrated because not only had I tried to stop it, but it reminded me of all of the times the same thing had happened in Mystic Falls. 

"Please, Damon, could you call me back? I'm getting seriously worried over here and I... I want to know what's going on", I sighed before hanging up the phone and looking down at it in my hands. I hadn't heard from him since he left and he wouldn't answer my calls. It just made me sick to my stomach imagining what could have happened. If he was just giving me pay back from when I wasn't answering my phone I would kill him.

So, yeah. I was having a pretty bad day to say the least. The worst part was probably that I unconsciously had started to forget what it was like to always worry and feel an underline of sorrow. Nothing had felt serious in Beacon Hills. Sure, I had been scared and a little bit panicked at times but I hadn't felt like this since I left Mystic Falls. It made it even harder to deal with it. It was like I couldn't remember what I was supposed to do.

One thing was certain, though, I wouldn't feel better by sitting and moping in my car outside of school. With that thought I was just about to start my car and head home, thoughts of a hot cup of tea and my warm bed already making me wistful, but I had just put the key into the ignition when the sound of a thump made me jump in my seat. My head whipped to the side and there, on my car window, I saw a bloody handprint smeared out. 

For a few seconds I just stared at it with my jaw slack. Then, as if someone had lit a spark inside of me, I jumped out of the car to see what this was all about. Because I had no idea what to except when I stepped outside. One thing I hadn't expected was Derek, but that was what I got. He was bloody and beaten, his eyes closed. As I leaned down and shook him slightly I saw that he had passed out. Still, the rise and fall of his chest told me that he was alive. As long as he was alive I was happy. 

I cast a glance around me, trying to see if anyone had seen what was going on. I was alone though, which wasn't that surprising since school had let out a while ago. Once I had made sure that there really wasn't anyone there to see me drag a lifeless and bloodied body, I started to haul Derek into my car. It was a struggle since he was pretty heavy, but it wasn't impossible. 

I was about to get into the car myself when I saw the handprint, red and obvious. I cursed myself for not having any type of tissues in my car before I took of my cardigan. It wasn't like I used it that often, but I hated that it had to get ruined because of this. Still, it wasn't like I had an option when it came to this. Either I wiped the window or someone would probably call the cops on me. At least I could then use it to cover Derek's chest as we drove away to his loft. That way it wouldn't be as obvious that I was driving a half-dead person in my car. 

•••

"Now that I know that you're not dead I can say this. I told you that someone was going to get killed! If you weren't passed out and close to death I would hit you right now", I scoffed as I was trying to clean the blood off of Derek's wounds. I didn't feel as bad about the words anymore, not now that he was alive. The fact that even I could hear the slight relief in them also spoke volumes about how I felt at the moment. 

With a sigh I dropped the towel in my hand in the bucket I had placed next to Derek's bed. The water had a pink tint to it and I knew that I soon would have to go and change it. Derek was laying in the bed, his eyes closed and his breathing even. I just assumed that he was asleep since he only stirred a little when the water came in contact with his wounds and that I otherwise got no reaction from him. 

"Okay, I might not be freaking out enough right now. I should be freaking out, right? That's what any normal person would do at this moment. Guess this type of shit just doesn't really face me as much anymore. Which is really bad, I know." I don't know why I decided that rambling was a good way to spend my time. It was just pretty uncomfortable in the silence and I couldn't think of anything else do say or do, so it was time to overshare. It's not like he could actually hear me.

"I guess since my whole family is dead it's not exactly surprising, I mean death is so much worse than this. Also, I've seen some horrible deaths, including my sister's and she's only like half-dead." Yeah, I had seen my sister die. I had been in the car when we were all drowning. Stefan was able to get Matt out, he was able to get me out. Elena hadn't been as lucky. 

"Still, the worst time was probably when my parents died. I was ruined after that, we all were. I didn't know what to do or say, I didn't know how to act like myself and I was like a ghost for months. That was until all the other shit started happening and I got distracted. Now I just feel like it's been a down spiral where I'm always losing people I care about."  I shook my head after having noticed how I was doing nothing while staring of into space. Again I tried to focus on cleaning Derek's wounds. 

"You know, next time you're planning something you should listen to me. Seriously, I know what I'm talking about and I know that maybe you don't think that it doesn't matter because you'll be in the line of fire. Maybe you don't care about yourself enough, but I know what it's like to be the one who survives and it's not that great either." I took a deep breath and willed the tears in my eyes away before looking down at Derek again, only to see that he this eyes were open now. 

"And you were actually awake, _great_ ", I muttered before putting the towel back in the bucket and getting up from the bed to go and pour out the dirty water. I was just by the door when I turned around, only to see that Derek's eyes once again were closed. This time, however, I didn't just assume that he was unconscious. Instead I took the opportunity he gave me and ducked out of the room as quick as possible. 

Seriously, why had I just started to overshare and become all emotional?! I rarely spoke to people about my emotions, even though I had to admit that it had felt nice to get things off of my chest, and saying those things to a guy I didn't even know was so weird. It wasn't like he was a therapist and I hadn't actually wanted him to know these things about me. I couldn't handle the weirdness that I had brought upon the both of us. 

This was all I was thinking about while refilling the bucket with water and tried to clean the towel. Sure, I was trying to pull myself together slightly but I was mostly beating myself up over the stupid decision I had made to open up my mouth. 

When the towel was soaked and a clear light pink and my hands were starting to scrunch up from the water I decided that I no longer had an excuse to stay out of Derek's room. I would just have to face the awkwardness head on and if Derek was okay with it I was going to pretend that I had never held that small monologue.

In contrary to how I had left him, Derek had his eyes open when I came into the room. Although, I did only meet his eyes for a second before I tried to act as if I was focused on watching where I was going. I really didn't want to see any type of pity in his eyes because if I did I knew that I might not be able to hold it together on my end. 

"So, how are you feeling?", I asked him as I sat down on the bed next to him. I had picked up the towel once again and this time I was mostly focused on drying off all of the dried blood. It looked pretty nasty and smelled even worse, but it wasn't the first time I had seen something like it. At least he didn't smell like death, that was always a plus. 

"It's alright, been worse", he answered pretty simply and when I risked a glance at his face I noticed how his eyes were following mine. They didn't hold any pity, which made me release a relieved breath. Actually, he seemed to be more thoughtful if anything and if his voice was anything to go of he wasn't really that concerned with specifically either of our pain. He sounded as if he wanted to say something in particular, something that wasn't that easy to say. 

Once again trying to distract myself, I dropped the towel and took the first aid kit that I had earlier found in the bathroom to patch up Derek's wounds. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear what Derek had to say. Either it could be something helpful and not too emotional, or it could be something that would make me break down in front of him. If it wasn't already obvious, I wasn't that big of a fan of showing myself vulnerable in front of others. 

"Did Scott tell you anything about me?", Derek wondered slowly, testing the waters. I frowned and let the confusion take control, which made me look up. I wasn't able to make the connection between the situation we were currently in and his words. Whatever knowledge Derek was fishing for, I probably didn't have it. 

"He told me that you're a werewolf and that you can be a bit grumpy at times." I shrugged my shoulders and saw how Derek nodded absentmindedly. Well, he only looked like that for a second before he turned back to me with determination clear in his eyes.

"My family's dead too... Actually, the only people left are my sister and uncle. The two that were here the other day." I didn't know if it was the actual words or just the fact that it was Derek who said them that made me the most surprised. I hadn't expected to get to know Derek, not like this. It felt strange, as if I was intruding on something just because I heard what he had said. Maybe he had felt the same when I had told him my own story. 

"Your family's... they're dead?" 

"Yeah, they've been gone for a while now", Derek sighed and I could see how he was trying to keep back the pain that his memories entailed. He looked so different from how he usually was and I couldn't say that I was surprised about that. Losing an entire family had to change someone and it was clear that it had made Derek close up. Why let anyone in when it was possible that it would all just end in flames?

"Back when I was in high school I got together with this hunter. I thought she really cared about me but she was just using me to get to my family. While my older sister and I were in school they burned the whole house down. Peter, my uncle, was the only survivor... Well, until we discovered that my younger sister, Cora, also survived. Then Laura died because Peter killed her." I didn't know what else to do but stare, the mare thought of bandaging Derek's wounds gone from my mind.

"I don't really like to think about it that often, but it's not like I can control it in any way. Especially when there are so many ways that I could have stopped it." For a few seconds I just sit there, looking at him. The heavy weight in my chest got a little worse hearing about his story, but I knew that Derek's wasn't looking for my pity. He wasn't telling me because he wanted me to be sad on his behalf. He told me because he realized that for once there was someone who might understand what he's been going through. It wasn't exactly every day you met an orphan that had gone through a lot of shit. 

Slowly, unsurely, I put down the first aid kit on Derek's nightstand. Then I moved slightly more onto the bed before laying down next to Derek. I hadn't been that keen on talking about death or loss, but that had been before I had heard Derek talking about it. He clearly understood how it felt to have gone through something like that. Also, I couldn't imagine him judging me for anything I had or was about to say. Just this piece of information about him had made something inside of me relax. Suddenly, I wasn't afraid or uncomfortable about being vulnerable around him.

"It really sucks, doesn't it? I mean, having to deal with this just because supernatural stuff just so happens to be a thing in your life", I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling. There was a bitterness in my voice that almost made it so that you couldn't hear the sadness. I just didn't know how I could possibly not feel bitter about the whole thing. Not when the supernatural was something that was just pushed upon me and I still had to suffer the consequences like this. 

"Yeah... Or we just have the worst of luck." I got up slightly and leaned on my elbow so that I could face Derek. His words had been slightly sarcastic but his face was completely stoic, clearly fighting to keep in emotions.

"Yeah, maybe. But still, what the fuck did we do to deserve this?", I asked, not really expecting an answer. He didn't look as if he was about to give me one either. I could see that my words had some effect on him though, just because of a small quirk of his lips. It wasn't a smile, not even close, but it was definitely something more than just the apathetic facial expression he had worn before.

"Well, I don't know about you but... I mean I wouldn't call myself a saint exactly", Derek awkwardly spoke, clearly thinking back to the difficulties he must've faced in his life. I chuckled a little before sighing.

"Me neither, but is anyone? I can't imagine any of us doing something so horrible that we deserve this." It was true. I really couldn't imagine Derek doing anything that would somehow make all of the pain in his life justifiable. Since Derek had also been in high school when his family had died I couldn't see how that could even be remotely true. 

"Well... Scott is pretty damn close if anyone. Seriously, his hero complex freaks me out sometimes." I couldn't help but laugh out loud at those words. They had been too sudden and they completely broke the tension that had been built up between us. Even Derek sporting an amused smile from his own comment. It was cute.  

"I really can't say that I'm surprised. He's too pure." I grinned widely as Derek chuckled quietly. It was a small accomplishment but still much further than I had gotten with him otherwise. I was just happy that the grumpy dude I had met a couple of days ago had started to warm up to me. I just hoped that it wouldn't change after Derek got better.

•••

"It's kind of stupid how everyone else is at a track meet right now. It feels so weird that they don't even know what's going on." Derek and I were in the kitchen and it was nearing night. I was at the stove making pancakes while Derek was sitting by the table, not really able to do much to help. Still, he was getting much better which was a relief. It wasn't like I had to worry about him just passing out at the table anymore so I saw that as success. 

"If they stopped doing ordinary stuff because of things were hectic they would never do anything. Sometimes it's good that they can leave town." I frowned slightly, not really agreeing with him. There were plenty of reasons for that.

"I just think it would be better if they were here. I talked to them earlier and Scott really blames himself for your death. He couldn't heal properly. If he had just been here he would have been abel to get better sooner", I told Derek as I flipped the pancake in the pan. When I glanced to where Derek was sitting I noticed how he seemed both surprised and concerned with what I had told him.

"Do they know I'm alive?", Derek asked in a way that made it impossible for me to tell what he wanted the answer to be. Still, it wasn't like I could lie about it. 

"No. Allison was able to patch him up and his fine. I wasn't really sure if I should tell them since Ethan is on the trip too. It's better to wait until they get back." A look of relief reached Derek's face and he nodded before smiling slightly my way.

"It's probably for the best. I don't think the alpha's would be that happy about me surviving", Derek agreed just as I put down two plates of pancakes on the table, one in front of him and one at the other end of the table. As we sat down and started to eat I couldn't help but let my eyes wonder over Derek's features. It wasn't every day that I got the chance to look at him up close after all. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?", Derek asked almost immediately. My eyes turned quickly down at the food and I tried to just stay calm about giving him an answer. Telling him that I thought he was really pretty and that I liked looking at him didn't seem like a great idea.

"It's just that you seem so relaxed right now. You usually look pretty worried and stuff", I instead told him. It wasn't a lie though. Derek was looking pretty casual which was unusual for him, at least from what I could tell. As I sat there in front of him though he had both smiled at me and I could see his shoulders being visibly less tense. 

"I think it's pretty hard not to worry all the time", he muttered and my eyes widened as I realized that I had totally brought his mood down.

"It's true, but just relax now. If Scott and the others get a break then so do we. Alright?" Derek looked pretty reluctant at my offer at first. Clearly he did not agree that we had earned a couple of days of just chilling about. However, as he saw the determination on my face he seemed to relent.

"Okay, but _only_ until the others get back." I couldn't help but grin widely before returning to eating the pancakes. And Derek couldn't fool me, because I saw the small smile he gave when he thought I wasn't looking. It looked like I would be spending some more time with Derek after all, and I couldn't say that I hated it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! So, it's been a while since I updated! I've had lots of tests and work and I've taken my driver's license so there hasn't exactly been a lot of time to write. I think I will be able to update the next chapter sooner though. Hope you all enjoyed this and if you did then please leave a comment or kudos!! Thank you so so so much!!!


	11. Bonding 2

It was later in the evening and I was working on some assignments from school. Music was streaming through my headphones and I was tuning out the world around me. Meanwhile, Derek was sleeping in his bed. At least I assumed that was what he was doing. When he had left about an earlier he had said something about being tired. 

I wasn't in a hurry to get home, not when I wasn't planning on doing so until the next day. Derek had almost died and I wasn't confident in his ability to keep himself alive for a night. A lot of things could happen and I would sleep better knowing what was going on. Mr. Argent wasn't expecting me either since I had called him. Of course I hadn't told him the truth about where I was staying. He probably wouldn't have approved of me staying at Derek's so I had simply told him that I was staying at my new friend "Demi's" house. Complete horse-shit, but Chris bought it. 

Without really putting my mind to it, I started to hum the song that was currently playing. My playlist was at the sad broody songs and I was totally into it. Even though I stopped myself from bursting into song I wasn't just going to sit there quietly. I didn't think it was possible to be passive when there was such emotion in the songs. Nope, totally impossible. 

It didn't take long before I was focusing more on the music in my ears than the assignment in front of me. After just a short while I gave up and put down the pen in my hand. My hand was aching a little after such a long time of writing so I figured I might as well take a break. It wasn't just my hand that was a bit stiff. As I stretched out my arms I could hear popping, the same with my neck and back. 

While still humming along to the music I got out of my seat and started putting away all of my books. Just then I could feel my stomach grumble and it hit me that I hadn't eaten that much that day. It wasn't exactly a weird occurrence that I was hungry. On the contrary, it was strange that I hadn't gotten hungry much sooner. 

Sadly, as I looked in the fridge I discovered that there wasn't much to work. The pantries in the kitchen weren't much better. It wasn't like I felt like eating pasta without any sauce or condiments. Yeah, if I wanted food I would have to go and get some... or maybe...

"I thought I heard a cat dying." I was brought out of my thoughts by Derek's groggy voice coming from behind me. I quickly spun around and met his eyes with a cold glare. While I took out the headphones and turned off the music I pursed my lips slightly. 

"I was going to suggest pizza, but you can starve." It was hard saying the words without laughing. I wasn't actually hurt by Derek's words, it wasn't like I didn't already know that I couldn't sing. However, I would never let Derek's teasing go by without some of my own. 

"You know that this is my loft and that I can order my own pizza, right?" Derek even smirked down at me. 

"You do that with your non-existing phone." I had the biggest shit-eating grin on my face as I could see how the realization dawned on Derek. Something had happened during the fight and his phone was no more. Not only was the screen cracked, but it looked completely mushed. 

"Okay, fine! You sing like an angel, can we order food now?" Derek sounded more impatient than sincere and I realized that I had the upper hand. He was hungry and he knew damn well that there was nothing appetizing in his fridge.

"Oh, I don't know. I'm really not that hungry anymore. I just feel so full from the pancakes we ate earlier. I'm probably just going to skip it", I teased and this time I couldn't hold back a laugh as Derek looked at me with murder in his eyes. The laugh, however, only lasted a second before it was replaced by a yelp when Derek pounced. 

"Hey! That's my phone! Stop!", I yelled out as I jumped out of the way and started to move towards the other side of the kitchen. Derek was reaching for the hand where I still held my phone but I was pretty quick. It was probably safe to say that I wouldn't have been as good at avoiding him if he hadn't been injured. Speaking of that injury, Derek suddenly hissed and grabbed at his side.

"Are you okay, Derek? Does it hurt?" I immediately got closer to check on him. A very dumb move. Just as I got into reach, Derek quickly reached out and took the phone from my hand. 

A shocked expression filled my face as I stared at him with an open mouth. He had seriously just pulled that and I didn't know what to say. He was smirking at me as he unlocked the phone and started to type in a phone number.

"You little shit", I got out in almost a whisper, still a bit perplexed over the fact that Derek had pulled that on me. I heard Derek snort as he turned with his back facing me. As I got back to my senses I couldn't help but also smile. Sure, Derek had tricked me but I would be lying if I said that it wasn't incredibly cute seeing him act like this. It was definitely a big differences from the sad and brooding guy I had seen before. The only downside was that I knew that this wasn't helping me with the whole "Derek is extremely attractive and I might actually fall for him" thing.

"Yes, hi! I would like to order one large Hawaiian", Derek suddenly spoke and he turned back towards me as he then told the person on the line his address. Not much later he hung up.

"You know, there might be a lot of things about you that are annoying. One of these things being that you are hurt but still stubborn enough to just sit down. However, you got one thing going for you." I decided to not say that he mostly had everything going for him. Nope, wasn't going to say that no matter how true it was. 

"And what's that?", Derek wondered with an uncertain smile, not really sure about where I was going with all this. I smiled brightly. 

"You've got great taste in pizza."

•••

A week earlier I would have never imagined myself chilling on Derek's bed, eating pizza, and binging some Modern Family. The fact that this was exactly what was going on was a bit strange, but I had given up on being all stiff and weird about it about five episodes ago. I mean, I had just spent the entire afternoon with him and it had been nice. Actually, it had been a little bit more than nice. 

"Eat up, Wolfy. I can't take another bite so you should finish it. I bet it's good for the healing process too or whatever", I told Derek with a small as I put down my blade on the bedside table before stretching out on the bed. 

"Never call me that again." I snorted at Derek's short answer. Sure, his voice had been fairly threatening and when I sneaked a glance at him there sure was an evident frown on his face, but I couldn't say that I was particularly faced with it. 

"Okay, I won't", I promised but Derek stared at me since I would let the mischievous smirk on my face go away. I let the silence hang between us for a few more seconds.

"I'll just call you Grumpy." I had honestly not thought that Derek's frown could deepen anymore but he proved me wrong, which in return earned him another snort from me. That later turned into a full on laugh when Derek grumpily turned his face to the TV, as if he was ignoring me. 

"I don't know if I should mention this, but..." Before I could finish my sentence Derek sighed and gave me a glance.

"Please don't", he said before stubbornly turning back to the TV. I grinned wider. 

" _But_ , you aren't doing much right now to prove me wrong." For a second Derek just gave me the same frown face as before but then, as if it was a split second decision on his part, he lifted his arm and gave me a hard shove. Since I was completely unprepared for this I flew right of the bed and landed on the floor. 

Apparently my reaction wasn't what Derek had expected. Actually, as he looked at me laughing until tears started to roll down my eyes I could see a grin form on his face too. I couldn't help it though. The fact that I had annoyed him to the point of him pushing me of the bed was hilarious to me. I just hadn't expected him to do something so childish!

"You know, I'll never be able to take you seriously ever again! Like, who pushes someone of a bed?" My laughter had calmed slightly, although it wasn't completely silenced yet. Derek rolled his eyes and scoffed at my statement, clearly not believing me. Not sure I believed myself either, Derek could look pretty threatening when he wanted to.

"Has anyone ever told you you're exceptionally annoying?" I huffed slightly as I got off the floor and sat down on the bed again.

" _Has anyone ever told you you're exceptionally annoying?",_ I mocked in a very bad impression of Derek's voice. Just by looking at him I could tell that he wasn't exactly appreciating it.

"Wow... You know that's just surprisingly immature", Derek said and I couldn't help but smile. Sure, Derek and I might have been bickering at the moment but it was pretty playful. I mean, Derek was no where near acting as sad, mad or brooding as he usually was. I kind of liked it. 

"Comes from the five year old who kicked me off the bed", I scoffed before snuggling down into the bed and turning my attention back to the TV. To my surprise Derek actually chuckled at that before following my example. While he was watching the episode I sneaked one last glance at him. 

The only thing I could think was ' _Fuck_!' He wasn't just pretty, he was pretty good as a person and I knew that I was not going to get rid of my small crush anytime soon. 

•••

I was angrily texting Derek when I felt the presence of someone joining me at the lunch table. Yes, I was at school and it was completely not my idea. Actually, I wanted to be at Derek's place and make sure that he wasn't doing anything stupid that would get him killed. When I had told Derek this he had literally kicked me out of his place and told me to go to school.

"What do you want?", I coldly told Aiden after I had put down my phone. He was sitting opposite me and was watching me with suspicious eyes. It wasn't like I hadn't known that Aiden would be at school. Actually, I had been certain of it which had been one of the many reasons of why I hadn't wanted to go. 

"Snappy. Are you feeling a little bit grumpy without your friends?", Aiden teased, the joking tone not being that evident in his voice. It was like he was trying to find out if I was hiding something or, if I would take a guess, he was trying to figure out if I knew where Derek was. 

"Yes, extremely." My answer was short and even though I had hoped that it would mean that he would leave me alone I knew that the chances were low. Aiden stayed where he was and I noticed how he then started to sniff the air, although I would give him some points for trying to be discreet. 

That's another reason why I was very mad at Derek. Since he had kicked me out and basically told me that if I didn't go to school he would not let me come back I had been forced to hurry home in the morning to take a shower and change clothes. I wasn't stupid and I had known that if I didn't, anyone with above average sense of smell would have been able to tell that I had been with Derek. 

"Where is Derek?", Aiden finally asked. He had clearly given up on trying to be subtle, or whatever it was he had been trying. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? How would I know where a dead dude is? I actually thought that you were going to bother me about something I knew but you're here to answer dumb questions. Great!" It wasn't that hard to play annoyed about his question when I was already pretty irritated at so many things. It definitely made it easier to come up with a good way to lie.

"Okay, let's pretend I believe you. You are just so innocent and have no idea where Derek is. Yeah, that doesn't sound so possible, does it?" I groaned before rubbing my forehead. Then I looked at Aiden with an exasperated look.

"I don't know why you think that Derek is alive, but if he is he would not come to me. I've met the guy like twice and neither time was that pleasant. Although, thanks. Now I just have to call Scott and tell him that apparently his buddy is alive. That is seriously going to solve some of his issues." I ended with a tight smile before getting up from the table and taking my tray with me. 

By the time I was about to drop of the trash on my tray, Aiden had caught up to me. It wasn't until I was out of the line that he stopped me again, though. With a relatively hard grip on my arm he pulled me closer to him.

"If I find out that you know where he is I'm going to make sure that you tell me everything you know, whatever means necessary." I had to grit my teeth as my arm started to hurt and I already knew that I was going to get a bruise there.

"Wow, I'm shaking in my booths. Please, have mercy!", I sarcastically got out as I lifted my hands in mock fright. The I ripped myself out of his grip and turned to walk away. Then, just before I stepped away from him, I turned back around.

"You know, I wouldn't threaten me if I were you. I've seen enough bad things in my life to not really care about how far I go to get revenge. Just, you know, watch out." I was pretty impressed that I had been able to hold such a calm and collected voice while threatening him. It almost had me a little giddy at how awesome I had sounded, but I wouldn't ruin the moment. That's why I kept the facade up until I had gotten all the way to the girls' bathroom. 

As I leaned against the sink I took out my phone once again and started texting. First, I told Derek that I hated him and that school was the worst thing I had ever been through. Second, I sent a text to Damon where I told him that he would have been hella impressed with the threat I just made. Third, I was about to text Scott about Derek. However, I reconsidered.

"Hi there, Scott. How's it going?", I answered as I heard the sound of someone picking up the phone on the other end. Maybe it was better if I called him about Derek "possibly" being alive than texting him.

"Not Scott, but things are... Alright?" I recognized Stiles' voice, although I wasn't that reassured by it. Actually, I was freaking out a little about the fact that Stiles had to sound unsure about them being _just_ alright. 

"Okay, that wasn't even a little bit convincing. Are you guys doing okay?", I wondered with worry in my voice. 

"Well, we're okay now. It's just been a really weird trip and we are on our way back. Track thing got cancelled and we almost died at this motel. Really freaky! But what's up with you." Alarms were going off in my head as Stiles rambled about their trip as if it wasn't a big deal. I really wanted to know what he had meant about them almost dying, but maybe it wasn't the best time. Also, as long as they were alive and on their way back it could wait.

"Well, I'm really bored because the only person I know at school except you guys is Aiden and I hate that guy. Like, this sucks. _But_ , he did tell me something very interesting earlier." I started of slowly while trying to think of a delicate way to break the news. It was way harder than I thought and I ended up with nothing.

"So, at lunch he started to ask me these really weird questions about Derek." I stopped, unsure of how to continue.

"Weird how?", Stiles asked, clearly invested in what I was saying as he sounded as him he wanted to reach through the phone and pull the answers out of me.

"Weird in that he asked where Derek was and basically acted as if Derek's still alive. I don't know why or how he thinks this, but maybe there's a chance." My voice sounded way hopeful in the end and I felt a little bad about lying. I knew Derek was alive and doing pretty well. I should have probably just told them. The problem was just that Aiden was still at the school and I didn't know if he was listening in on the call. 

"Okay, yeah that classifies as weird. Cool! Ehm, I think we should talk about this when we get back because Scott just woke up and looks like he's never been happier. Yeah, he totally heard that thing about Derek and I got to talk with him. Bye!" The call then ended just like that. I smiled a little, unable to help myself. Stiles was a little bit eccentric, but in a fun way. For a moment I considered if I should do something. Before I could regret my decision I sent a quick text.

_To: Scott_

_Derek definitely alive. Been taking care of him and he's getting better. Tell ya more when ya get back :)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! And I'm finally done with the next part! Wasn't really happy with the original draft so had to rewrite the entire thing. Took me longer than I thought but it's finally done!! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!! Please leave a comment or kudos or something like that :)
> 
> Sofija


	12. The Ring

The hard truth that I had to get out of bed in the morning hit me the second I heard my alarm blaring. After having spent a few days at Derek's I had nearly forgotten how hellish it was to wake up in the morning, get ready, and leave for school. The worst part was probably the fact that my room was freezing while my bed offered such warmth and comfort. Maybe that was the reason why I, instead of got up, turned over in bed and closed my eyes once more. 

My whole body jerked slightly as three hard knocks met my bedroom door. With a tired groan I turned around in bed and stared towards it. For a few seconds there was complete silence before three more knocks, these ones softer, were once again heard.

"Hannah, are you up?" It was Chris. Right, there were people actually watching over me and making sure that I didn't ditch school. There went my plans of sleeping in. 

"Yeah, hold on a sec", I called back in a groggy voice as I got out of bed. The hair on my arms immediately rose at the cold air and I grabbed the jumper that was hanging on my chair to cover up. It didn't help that much since it too had been a victim of the coldness of the room, although I preferred having it on to the alternative.

"Hey, what's going on?", I wondered as I held up the open door to Chris. He studied my state and it was clear that he could tell that I had just gotten out of bed. He stayed quiet about it though, and it was also then that I noticed him holding a cardboard box in his hands.

"This was in the mailbox this morning. It's for you", Chris explained as he saw that my attention was on the box. He handed me the box before leaving me with a word of not being late to school. 

Taking the small box back to bed I sat down and got under the covers. Fuck it, I might as well go to school without make up or anything. Who really cares about it? I just couldn't find it in myself to get ready yet and if I was being honest, usually I just wore make up because I liked putting it on in the morning. It was somehow a little bit therapeutic.

There was no indication on the outside of who had sent me the box, which only got me more curious. I didn't even bother to take it easy before tearing up the top of the box. However, once I had it opened I was still at a loss of what I had received. Luckily there was a small note inside the box that explained what was sent to me.

_We figured this might become useful in the near future, even though we hope that it doesn't. Better safe than sorry though, right? Please call when you've got this, got something to tell you -_

_Damon & Stefan_

I dug around the bubblewrap until I finally discovered what Damon and Stefan had sent me. The Gilbert ring. I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel a small sour feeling at the thought of actually needing it. Since I had always been surrounded with people who had healing abilities I hadn't needed it before, but now I suddenly did. 

After having slid the ring onto my finger, finding it a little bit to big, I took my phone from the bedside table. I had Damon's number on speed dial so I had the phone to my ear, waiting for an answer, in no time. 

The fact that Damon wasn't answering his phone and I came to the voicemail the first time I called didn't sit well with me. Why wasn't he picking up if he had been so insistent on me calling in the first place? I just hoped that nothing had happened because I couldn't deal with another disaster. 

"You know, when you ask someone to call them you're usually expected to answer", I scoffed as he finally picked up on the other end of the phone. When I didn't hear an immediate response a frown grew on my face and I, again, started to suspect that something was off.

"Hannah." It was almost a whisper, just slightly louder. It wasn't Damon's voice, definitely not, but I knew it. Actually, it belonged to more than one person but I knew that Katherine would never sound so relieved and hopeful when speaking to me. Elena... Well, without her humanity gone I wouldn't opt for her either.

The silence that grew as I was too speechless to say anything was thick. It was slightly silly of me to be so afraid about who I was actually talking to. Even though I knew that voice, I _knew_ that it just had to be Elena, I was too afraid to actually hope for it. Just the disappointment of possibly being wrong or it being some trick was way too frightening for me to know what to actually say. 

"Hannah, it's me. It's me, Elena." I gasped without wanting to, my body just reacting to the pent up tension in my body being released. I wasn't fine though. My heart started to beat faster, my head filled with confusion. Everything about the situation left me dazed and I struggled to find the right words.

"Elena?", was what I in the end got out. I could hear the hope dripping from every syllable while the confusion wasn't nearly as audible. Was she... Did she get her humanity back? She sounded so much like her old self that it almost hurt. 

"I'm so sorry, Hannah. I'm sorry for everything I did. I... I know that I can't blame it on not having my humanity but I just need you to know that I'm sorry", Elena rambled and her words just made the confusion melt away. She had to be herself again. She just had to! There was no way that this wasn't my sister, the one I loved. Still, a small part of me feared the possibility of everything just being a lie. 

"Is... Is Damon there?", I asked, still a bit dazed. Even if I couldn't trust Elena just yet, I could always trust Damon. I needed to hear his voice, needed to hear him say that it was true because I just couldn't let myself fall into a trap because I trusted the voice of my sister. 

"I'm here and Elena's telling the truth. Her humanity's back", Damon's voice suddenly declared. I could hear the happiness in his voice and I wanted to join the sentiment. Something stopped me. When I had first heard Elena's voice I had only cared about whether she was really herself again. Now that I had figured that she was, the pain came back. 

As I tried to force myself to be happy, all I could hear was Elena's cruel voice telling me that she didn't care about me. All I could see was her heartless stare as she turned her back on me. She hadn't been herself and I knew that, but it didn't make it hurt any less. That sudden realization suddenly made me want to just disconnect. 

"That's great... I just... I need to go. Bye!" I didn't leave any time for them to answer. After having hung up I put the phone back on the bedside table. I could feel my hand shake a little but payed barely any mind to it. I was so relieved to have my sister back, but at the same time I could barely stand to talk to her. My mind was a mess and I needed to sort my thoughts. Otherwise I had no idea how I would be able to talk to Elena, let alone forgive her. 

•••

I was sitting in class, waiting for it to end. School was a pretty good distraction and the morning's events had been successfully kept out of my mind. Actually, the fact that Scott had rushed out of class as he had found out that his boss was going to be the next druid sacrifice was an even better distraction since it gave me something else to worry about. 

Something that wasn't a great distraction was the fact that Stiles had left not much later, leaving me alone in class. No one else got to leave and I was bored out of my mind. At least with Stiles I would have had someone to discuss this with but no, I was stuck in History class. 

This had gotten me to incessantly tap my new ring against the desk, knowingly annoying multiple people in class. I was getting too impatient though and I could barely sit still. I wanted to help, or at least do something. Reading about people in war wasn't nearly as important as what I could have been doing. 

"Class dismissed." The words had barely left the teacher's mouth before I was up from my chair and on my way out. I was finally free to find either Scott or Stiles and help them. That wouldn't be an easy task though and no one was answering their phone. 

"Hey! Hannah!", I heard someone yell from behind me, just before I heard the wailing sound of the fire-alarm getting set off. I turned around and saw Stiles hurrying towards me. Speak of the devil! I couldn't have been happier to see him at moment, especially when I noticed the plotting look in his eyes as he came charging towards me.

"I need your help", he told me in an out-of-breath voice. He gave me no time to ask for details, as he instead only grabbed my arm and started to drag me down the hallway. I was about to once again attempt to question what was going on when he stopped us. The fire alarm was still ringing through the school as Stiles tore open the door in front of us. 

As we came into the room we saw the girl I remembered had been in Derek's loft holding Lydia's arm in a tight grip. If I remembered correctly, that was Cora. Derek's sister.

"Sweetheart, my last boyfriend was a homicidal lizard, so I think I can handle a werewolf. Let go, I said-", Lydia was saying to the girl, trying to get away. She didn't get to finish her sentence though.

"Let go. She said, let go", Stiles interrupted, leaving no place for arguing. I felt the tension in the air and decided to stay quiet. Whatever had just happened, I felt more comfortable standing on the sidelines until someone told me what to do. 

•••

"A ouija board?", Lydia asked in disbelief and slight annoyance. Stiles, Lydia and Cora were standing around a table, discussing methods on how to contact some spirits. I, however, felt a little bit unsure on whether I should get involved since I didn't have that good experiences with contacting the dead. A ouija board didn't seem like such a good idea. 

"Also called a spirit board, and it's worth a shot", Stiles told her, speaking quickly which I had noticed he did often. He seemed to be the only one in the room who actually seemed to regard the ouija board as a legitimate option. 

I pushed myself off the wall and walked closer to the three in the room. Since I had no interest being by myself I felt that I should probably stop them, or else I would have to sit through some possibly freaky stuff. 

"I don't exactly have a good history these type of stuff and I would really appreciate it if we didn't try to talk to the dead. I really don't feel like getting possessed or seeing like dead people who hold a vendetta against me. Maybe we should think of something else", I suggested in a stiff voice. For a second I thought something seemed to reason with Stiles, but before I knew it he seemed to completely change opinion. 

"Nope, we should try it. Come on, please? This is for Scott's boss, the guy who has actually saved our collective asses on more than occasion", Stiles pointed out as he started to take out the ouija board from the box it was stored in. I knew that it didn't matter if Scott's boss had done nothing for me, Stiles argument seemed to win over both Cora and Lydia. 

With a groan I threw my head back before joining the others with putting my fingers on the small arrow in the middle. This was so stupid and I should have just walked out of the room but if I did that I would have to deal with my personal problems and truth be told I would've much rather dealt with being possessed. 

"Okay, just so we're clear... I was totally forced into this and this is not what I want." Stiles only gave me a sceptic look before turning back to the ouija board. I glared towards him, even though he couldn't see it. I just felt good about somehow showing how much I disagreed with the whole ordeal. 

"Where's Dr. Deaton?", Stiles asked loudly which, was then only followed by silence. I waited, with a knot in my stomach, as nothing happened. It felt nerve-wracking just imagining that something was about to happen, but I refused to leave as tension loomed in the room. The only one who seemed lost to this was Lydia, who was being eyed by both Stiles and Cora while she stared off into space. 

"What?", she wondered as she noticed the others' looks. I was a little bit curious about what they had meant by eyeing her. I mean, wouldn't they be more concerned about the ouija board?

"Aren't you gonna answer it?", Stiles wondered. I took my fingers of off the ouija board and placed them over my face. Okay, so they didn't even know how it worked. What did they even think the letters and arrow were for!? Dramatic effect?!

"Oh, I don't know the answer. I thought we were asking some sort of spirit", Lydia told them which seemed quite logical to me. Stiles, however, didn't agree. He actually seemed a little fed up with Lydia, which was a bit amusing to me since he was the one who didn't know what he was doing.

"Well, do you know any spirits?", Cora asked Lydia. That was actually a valid question. If there weren't any spirits in the school and if we didn't know any spirits that we were expecting to visit us, the ouija board was pretty much useless. It wasn't like any random spirit would just come and visit us like in scary movies.

"Is she for real?" Lydia didn't seem amused and I was pretty sure she was about to bolt any minute. I kind of understood her, but Cora's question wasn't what would have made me clock out. It would have actually been the fact that none of us really knew what we were doing. Still, Stiles had the audacity to act as if Lydia was the nuisance.

"Maybe we should figure out how to use banshee powers before we experiment?", I commented while leaning forward on the desk in front of me. If we weren't careful we could probably do something that we would regret, but none of the others had seemed to think about that.

"Actually-", Stiles started but before he could continue I felt my phone vibrate and as I fished it out of my pocket I put up a finger to silence him. A small smile reached my lips as I looked down on the screen and noticed Derek's name appear. The same smile disappeared pretty quickly as I then realized what I had been doing. 

"I need to take this." The other three seemed obvious to my moment of weakness and let me walk of to the side without further questions. Since I knew that Cora had werewolf hearing I opted for answering outside the classroom. At least the risk of her listening in on the conversation was smaller than if I had done it just a few feet away. 

"Well, I did not expect you to be calling." My voice was happy as I answered the phone. I couldn't really help the fact that I really felt glad about Derek calling me. Sure, I hated that I was so weak to this and that I so easily succumbed to these emotions but at the same time it just made me giddy.

"Hey. I really need to talk to you", Derek's spoke and his stone cold tone made me immediately straighten as I realized that something serious was going on. 

"What's going on?", I asked, my whole demeanor completely changed from a couple of seconds ago. I might've been, reluctantly, crushing on Derek but that would not stop me from focusing on more pressing matters. 

"No matter what you can not come over tonight, okay? It doesn't matter what's going on, you just can come here." I frowned at his words, confused about what the motive behind his words were. Just the fact that he felt the need to call me and explain this made me feel worried about what he had planned.

"I wasn't thinking about coming over, but why shouldn't I?" I leaned back against the lockers, staring off into nothingness. I heard him sigh on the other end of the phone, as if he didn't appreciate my question. I rolled my eyes since I could just tell he was about to avoid answering.

"You know what? I might just stop by. I'm curious now." My voice was dripping with fake enthusiasm and if Derek had been in front of me he would have seen my bitter facial expression. Still, he could probably tell that I wouldn't just let him off without an explanation. 

"I just... If you come by tonight something might happen and you might get hurt", was Derek's short answer. I knew that he probably had a reason for why he wouldn't tell me everything, why he wouldn't be transparent with me. Still, there was something that kept nagging on me and I couldn't just let it go. Whatever it was that Derek had planned, I didn't want to be kept out of the loop. 

"I can protect myself and I would appreciate it if all of you started to take me seriously when I say that... But I won't come. Just call me when you can, I don't really want to have to clean out my car again." I looked down on the ring I had on my left hand. Maybe it wasn't so much that I could protect myself, than me having supernatural protection. Although, I could fight for myself. Not that I had shown any of them that. 

"I'll call you as soon as we're done." There was a hesitant tone in Derek's voice, as if he wanted to say something else. I didn't give him a chance to do so though as I hung up just after Derek had finished his sentence. 

The giddy feeling was gone completely now and replaced with a mix of other emotions. I wasn't exactly mad at Derek for not trusting my skills, but at the same time I might have been... disappointed? I couldn't exactly pinpoint my own feelings and I just wished something would distract me until I felt better. 

"I thought you didn't know he was alive." Okay, not the distraction I wanted. As I turned around and faced Aiden I couldn't help but to sigh in annoyance. 

"Seriously, does it even matter? I got way more important things to work on and I really don't feel like talking to you. Please leave." I didn't leave any time for sweet talking. The worst part was that I had learned that Aiden usually came to me with a purpose. He wanted to know something or he thought I had done something. 

"It kind of does, actually. You see, now that you've lied to me I really see no reason to be careful with you." I frowned at him, not understanding the meaning behind his words. For a few seconds we just stood there but I quickly got fed up and made to leave. 

"No, you don't", Aiden said just as he grabbed ahold of my wrist, pulling me back. His grip was tight, painful even. It didn't stop me from fighting back as I lifted my other hand to hit him. Just as my fist was about to make impact Aiden grabbed my other wrist and pulled my arm down.

"What the hell is your problem?", I got out with both anger a slight pain evident in my voice. Aiden didn't answer me, or at least he didn't give me an answer that I heard. Just seconds after I had spoken he roughly shoved me against the lockers behind us and as I was to busy focused on the new, sharp pain I didn't get a chance to fight back before Aiden grabbed my head and slammed it to the lockers. I was out before my body even hit the ground. 

•••

The splitting headache that hit me as soon as I woke up made me want to go back to sleep. My eyes weren't even open but I could already imagine how dizzy and disoriented I would be the second they opened. It didn't help that I felt as if I was moving, like I was in a car or something. Actually, it made me want to throw up. 

"Finally", a voice scoffed and the sound of a car door opening hit me. I couldn't help but to flick at the sound and my eyes opened slightly. As I had guessed, I felt even worse after having opened my eyes. There was barely any time for me to take it in before the door on my right opened and I was roughly pulled outside. I struggled slightly, but it was pretty pathetic. Ethan and Aiden, who both had tight grips on me, didn't pay me much attention as they started to lead me inside. It was at that point that I realized where we were. 

"What's a girl got to do to get you alone?" The sound of a woman's voice echoed slightly through the corridor as I was pulled closer and closer to it. Then, I was pulled inside the loft. Derek, Isaac and Boyd were all there. The woman who had spoken stood in front of them and I could not say that I recognized her. As I felt claws to my neck I realized why I was there and Derek's warning words from earlier echoed inside my mind. 

"You and me Derek, or they tear her apart. What do you say? You think you can beat me one on one?", the woman asked cockily. Once again I tried to get out of their grip, but it was completely hopeless and it didn't take me long to figure that out. Actually, I was surprised at how quickly I came up with a better plan. 

"Let them, Derek! Just listen to me and let them! I'll be alright so don't be stupid." Let's just say that this wasn't the reaction anyone had expected of me. Six pairs of eyes were turned to me and I couldn't help my chuckle a little at their slight worry and confusion. The ring on my finger was a heavy reminder of the fact that we had the upper hand.  

"I wasn't expecting that", Isaac commented, which brought my eyes over to him for a second and I kind of snorted. The fact that he didn't know how simple this situation was for me made his lighthearted comment even better for me. 

"Hannah, don't..." Derek's voice caught my attention and when I looked at him I saw how my words must have sounded to him. He looked so shocked and hurt by my words. 

"No, Derek, I didn't mean it like-" My words were interrupted by Ethan's hand as he covered my mouth. I was still not fit for fight, but it didn't stop me from trying again and again to break free. Ethan and Aiden tightened their grip on me and as I trashed about I accidentally made Aiden's claws scratch my throat. It was then that I felt that I couldn't fight them anymore. 

My body hurt, like really hurt. My arms were going to be covered in bruises, my neck was leading, and my head hurt more than ever before. If the twins hadn't been holding me I would have probably fallen to the ground out of plain exhaustion. It was impossible to even focus on what was going on in front of me. 

Sudden light filled the loft and I was quick to close my eyes as it hurt both my eyes and head. Suddenly I felt the grip on me losen and I would have crumbled to the ground, had it not been for another set of hands catching me. Slowly I opened my eyes again and I could see that the light wasn't there anymore. Isaac was holding me and I could see Derek kneeling in the water on the ground in front of us. 

"Take him", the woman commanded and the twins went to grab a struggling Derek. I had no idea what had happened, but he seemed hurt. I noticed how the woman grabbed ahold of a limp Boyd and lifted him up. Before I knew what was happening, the woman had dropped Boyd onto Derek's claws. 

"I'm giving you 'till the next full moon, Derek. Make the smart choice, join the pack. Or next time I'm killing all of you", the woman spoke before walking past us and leaving the loft. The twins were close behind her, but my focus weren't on them. 

I heard Derek and Boyd moving and saw how Derek hopelessly tried to think of a way to save Boyd's life. It hurt my heart to have to watch Derek lose another person he cared about and I couldn't just sit there on the ground, helpless. Even though it hurt I had to get up and help. Before I could do so, I heard Boyd speaking.

"It's okay, man", he breathed out in a struggling voice. His eyes were closed and Derek's claws were still stuck in his body. I covered my mouth with my hand as I realized how hopeless the situation really was. There was no saving Boyd's life. 

My eyes found the ring on my left hand once more and I felt such resentment about the fact that I could have stopped this. If Derek had let me die, this wouldn't have happened. If I had been quicker to explain or if I had just taken matters into my own hands, Derek wouldn't have been forced to kill someone he cared about. 

Derek couldn't be blamed though. He hadn't known that I would have lived. In his eyes he had been choosing between himself and me. In his eyes I would have died and he thought he was stopping death by fighting. That's why I decided that I couldn't tell him about the ring after this.

"No, no. No, it's not. It's not", Derek repeated as he still tried to find a way to save Boyd's life. I stumbled up on my feet and to Derek. It was hard, but I couldn't just sit and watch anymore. 

"It's all okay, Derek", Boyd answered once again in a breath. I sat down in the water next to Derek, but I hesitated on putting my hand on his shoulder. As I glanced back towards Isaac I saw how he looked just as lost as Derek. He was hugging his knees while just watching everything unfold in a helpless way. He also knew what would inevitably happen. 

"I'm... I'm sorry", Derek got out. Boyd's eyes were open and there was no ill will in them. Boyd didn't blame Derek, he knew that it wasn't his fault.

"The full moon. That feeling... That was worth it. There's a lunar eclipse. I always wondered what... What that felt like for one of us. For one of us", Boyd gasped out. Those were his last words. Barely audible, he fought to say that last sentence. He was dead before anyone could say anything else. 

Derek's hands grew back to normal and with that Boyd's body fell to the ground. Derek was shaking, completely devastated by the loss of his beta. His whole body shook and his eyes were stuck staring off into space. 

I finally took the initiative and reached out to Derek. My arms came around his waist as I hugged him close to me. I knew that a hug wouldn't make things better, I knew that nothing could. Still, I had to do something and Derek needed to know that he wasn't alone. 

I heard the sound of footsteps coming from the door, but I didn't bother to check who the newcomers were. After a couple of seconds two other people joined us in the water. One of them went to Boyd, while the other put a hand on Derek's shoulder. The shaking had thankfully stopped, but he was still unresponsive. I wasn't surprised or blaming him. We were all a bit lost at the moment. All we could do was stay in the same position as we tried to process what had happened and how we would move forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! Thank you so much for being patient with me and I really appreciate that you guys like this! Hope you all liked this chapter and hopefully I'll be able to put out the next one soon!! Please, if you like this, leave a comment or kudos!!
> 
> Sofija xx


	13. Bitter

Two days ago Derek had disappeared. No one knew where he was and everyone was out looking for him, but not me. That meant I was completely alone in school and after the night in Derek's loft I wasn't the most keen on staying all alone. My friends in Beacon Hills would have meant that there would have been no way in hell that either Ethan nor Aiden would try to talk to me. That wasn't the case though.

The music was playing through my earphones as I sat alone at the table in the school library. Since I wasn't out looking for Derek I felt the need to in some other way. I couldn't just sit and be passive, doing nothing. I needed a mission and I had made myself one. 

The alpha pack was still a big concern of ours and instead of putting anything on hold I had decided that I would take matters into my own hands and research how to take them down. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't being driven, at least slightly, by my own vendetta against the twins. After all, I still had the bruises to show of after what had happened at Derek's.

"Hey, can we talk?" I hadn't even noticed anyone new entering the library, much less sitting down in the chair in front of me. Too deep into my own thoughts combined with the music blaring through my ears, I just hadn't been able to catch the newcomer.

I had been surprised at the sudden voice, but I was doing a good job at hiding it. I didn't need to look up to know that I wanted to leave that second. Ethan and Aiden had hurt me pretty bad the other night. Just moving around doing normal day to day stuff made my limbs hurt. I couldn't even remember the last time I had felt like this. 

It wasn't just bruises though. Even though I had refused to go to the hospital I was pretty sure that I had a minor concussion and some back pains because of Aiden throwing me into the lockers. If it hadn't been for the pain meds I had taken that morning I would not have been able to go to school. To put it simply, my situation was bad enough without having to mix either of the twins into it all. 

"I'd rather not", I finally answered in a monotone voice, not even looking up to see Aiden's reaction. Instead I kept my eyes on the book in front of me, hoping that for once Aiden would just listen.

"Could you just listen, please? I know that you're pissed at us, but we didn't choose to do this." I wasn't in the mood for Aiden's vague explanations. Was he talking about hurting me? Was he talking about what they did to Derek? I didn't know and I didn't care. 

Without plans of answering Aiden, I increased the volume on my phone. If he wouldn't leave, I wouldn't humor him with my anger or frustration. My plan to ignore Aiden with the help of my music was soon interrupted as my earphones were ripped from my ears. I could still hear the music playing from them as they hung from Aiden's hand.

"Would you just stop being childish? I really want to explain but neither you nor Lydia are talking to me. I just want you to understand." I took a few deep breaths as I looked up at him with zero emotion in my face before grabbing my earphones from his hand. Just as I was about to put the earphones back into my ears, Aiden grabbed ahold of my arm to stop me.

A sharp breath escaped me as I unwillingly flinched from the pain. Just underneath Aiden's hold was one of the bruises he had left on me. As I ripped my hand from his grip my long-sleeved shirt was pulled back and an angry, purple bruise peeked out. I was quick to cover it, but as I looked up to Aiden I could see that he had obviously seen it. 

Silence stretched out between the two of us after that. I wouldn't look up at him and he wouldn't say anything or leave. I started to pretend that I was reading the book in front of me but I just couldn't focus on the words when Aiden was sitting there.

"Hannah... I didn't want to hurt you like that." I waited for Aiden to continue but he simply stayed silent after that, waiting for my response. I contemplated on whether I should give him one, pretty content on just letting him suffer. However, I figured that he wouldn't leave if I didn't say something to make him leave.

"First you weren't able to make any choices and then you didn't want to hurt me. What are you even doing here if you don't think you're the one to blame for any of this?" My voice sounded more tired than I had anticipated, but the bitterness in it wasn't unexpected. 

Since I kept looking down in the book I didn't see Aiden's reaction to my words, but not many seconds later he got up and left. It probably wasn't that easy fighting me when he clearly saw the evidence against him, and he seemed to realize that he was in the wrong. I wasn't going to forgive him though, not when I knew that he probably would do the same thing if it came down to it. He wasn't happy that it happened, but he figured it was what had to happen.

I tried to put the whole encounter behind me, which I think I succeeded in, as I put in the earplugs again. I blasted my music as I continued to read. My doubts were telling me that I wouldn't find anything useful in the books from the library but I refused to listen to that part of my brain. I needed to focus on actually finding something, no matter how little it might be. I just had to do something that would help.

•••

I should have listened to my doubts. After wasting another hour in the library, trying to find anything to use against the alpha-pack, I gave up. I didn't feel great about having wasted a lot of time with something useless.

Neither Ethan nor Aiden had tried to talk to me again. Hopefully they understood that I wouldn't be sweet-talked into liking them any time soon. Not when they didn't even realize their own part in the whole thing. 

Something I was happy about was that Lydia seemed to hold just as much of a grudge as I. To be honest, I didn't know why Aiden cared about what Lydia thought but my best guess was that there was something between the two of them. Lydia had clearly shown interest in Aiden and I wouldn't be surprised if Aiden liked her. I mean, Lydia's kind of perfect!

Back to my own ineffective self. In total, I had spent over two hours trying to find something. Since that had been a waste I would have to find a new way to help. Thankfully, I knew one perfect way to find information about the supernatural. I didn't have a supernatural wikipedia for nothing. 

"Hey there, my wonderful and amazing friend", I spoke into the phone as soon as I heard that someone answered. I figured that being nice right from the start wouldn't hurt my case, especially since I had been using his knowledge a lot lately. Maybe I should make it a habit to just send a text asking what's up. We were friends after all.

"Well, if it isn't the loveliest Gilbert? And what does she need this time?" I couldn't help but chuckle at how unbothered he seemed by me calling. He actually seemed happy to hear from me, no matter the reason.

"So, you know how I'm living in this town with these weird werewolves. It just so happens that we've got a small problem with a pack of alphas." I started to explain in a lowered voice. After all, I was still in the library and I really didn't want anyone to hear me.

"Sounds troublesome. How can I help you with this?" Klaus still sounded slightly amused, not like we were discussing a serious manner. I felt a bit different, but it was nice to hear that someone wasn't worried about this. 

"Do you possibly know any way for us to take them down... Preferably a painful way", I added the last part as I was once again reminded of the bruises on my arms as my eyes grazed one of them. I was quick to look up then and that's when I noticed Danny sitting a few tables away from me. He was thankfully still engrossed in whatever assignment he had in front of him, but I decided to keep my voice down as to not to catch his attention.

I liked Danny. He was nice and there really wasn't anything wrong with him. It was just that... He was kind of dating Ethan. I had no idea about how much Danny knew but if he knew about the alpha pack I didn't want him to hear about my plans.

"You sound upset. Did something happen?" Okay, so now Klaus sounded worried. Maybe he also sounded a bit angry and I felt slightly relieved to hear this from him. It felt nice to know that there was a _very_ powerful person on my side who clearly would help me do whatever to help me.

"Yeah, something happened and I'm vengeful. I'll handle it so you don't have to worry. I just need some tips about _how_ to get my revenge", I told him and there was mischief in my voice. I really wanted to do something to hurt them, and I wasn't really that surprised when I realized how far I was willing to go to get back at them.

"Hannah, are you hurt?" I wanted to feel happy about Klaus caring about me, but I really wanted to be productive at the moment. Sure, I could have just riled Klaus up and get him to come but I didn't want to just use him like that. I also wanted to prove that I actually could take care of myself, all I needed was some guidance. 

"I've experienced way worse, although I did heal quicker then. The point is, I need to make sure that these people stop hurting both me and my friends", I told him honestly. There was only silence for a second before Klaus chuckled. Okay, so he must have believed me then. It was a good thing because if he had seen the bruises on my arms he wouldn't have been as easy to convince. I could just imagine him delivering me the twins' hearts in a silver platter. Klaus liked his dramatics. 

"Always as loyal and protective, and I promise that I will help you in whatever way I can", he promised and his voice was once again more lighthearted. 

"Please do, I don't think I'll get over this until I do something", I sighed and it was then that my eyes suddenly looked at the clock just above the door I noticed that my last class of the day would be starting soon and that I had to get there soon. While pinching the phone between my shoulder and my ear I started to gather my stuff.

"I can sadly not tell you too much about them. What I do know, though, is that wolfsbane can be lethal to them. Well, if you get the right kind. Mountain ash can be used for protection, but it doesn't hurt them in the same way that wolfsbane does. Lastly, do not go after them by yourself. They are strong and can change regardless of the moon's phase. I have a lot on my plate right now so do not force me to come there and rip some hearts out." I couldn't help but to laugh at the end. I knew Klaus and I knew that he was at least ninety percent serious with the threat. 

"Well, I kind of knew all of that. Thanks anyway, though. And you really don't have to worry about me, I'll be careful", I answered. To be honest, I had really hoped that Klaus would have given me some quick fix, no matter how unrealistic that was. It would have been amazing to just have like a weapon that would save the day and fix everything. 

"Alright then. Good bye, Hannah." I had gotten out of my seat and slung my bag over my shoulder. As I was headed out I noticed that Danny had looked up towards me. With a wave to him I then left the library, pocketing my phone as I went. 

I wasn't exactly up for another lesson, but I had to go. It wasn't like I could just skip every time I felt slightly inconvenienced. I would go to my last class and after that I could head home and mope over the fact that I had accomplished absolutely nothing all day. 

The only thing I had read about that could _maybe_ be of significance was the thing I read about something called a "true alpha." It wasn't that clearly explained but from what I had gathered, those were pretty powerful compared to normal ones. If we had only had one of those we would have had a secret weapon, but we didn't so it was pretty pointless.  

"Excuse me? Ms. Gilbert, could I have a word with you?" I was brought out of my thoughts as I heard the voice adress me. As I turned around I saw my english teacher, Ms. Blake, standing there. She was smiling kindly at me as she waited for my answer. 

"Yeah, no problem", I answered before I followed her into one of the classrooms. It was empty inside, only the two of use there. Ms. Blake held the door open for me before closing it. As she turned towards me I could see her smile turn more of a worried expression.

"I figured that maybe I could ask you about something that I've been wondering about. I mean, you're friends with Scott and Stiles so maybe you'll know. Is Derek okay? I haven't seen him in awhile." Her words made me frown a little, mostly in confusion. I didn't know that she knew Derek, or that she was somehow involved in all of this. The worst part was that I didn't know how much she knew.

"Yeah, he's alright. He just had to deal with something so he's not home", I vaguely told her with a stiff smile. I wasn't going to spill any secrets, not even accidentally. 

Ms. Blake didn't seem to happy with my answer, by the look of her pursed lips. If she had expected me to just spill all of our secrets, to just trust her, she was incredibly wrong. 

"I know that something crazy is going on, so you can tell me if it was something like that", she told me before looking down towards her feet. I felt a bit weird about what she had said but I really didn't want to engage. I already had a lot on my plate and I wasn't about to add this to it. If she wanted to know something about Derek she would have to ask him, not me. 

"No, he just needed to get away for a while. He's fine." I shrugged as if to make it look like Derek's disappearance wasn't that big of a deal. It was easy to pretend, especially since I didn't really care about her. 

I knew that the others wanted to find Derek. They saw his disappearance as something bad. I didn't exactly feel the same about it. After what had happened it wasn't strange that he wanted to be alone. Derek had been through something pretty damn traumatic so he needed to find a way to cope. He would come back, but when he was ready. 

"Oh, okay! If you talk to him, could you maybe tell him that I was looking for him?", Ms. Blake asked me as she rubbed her arm with uncertainty. I wanted to react or say something. She acted as knew Derek well, as if she was close to him. I felt a little unsettled about it since I was a bit interested in Derek myself. 

I saw two possible versions of what was going on. Either Derek was actually seeing Ms. Blake and I had been stupid about this whole thing, or Ms. Blake was delusional and was overstepping her boundaries. No matter what was going on, I wasn't going to act out. I would wait and ask Derek about it when he came back. 

"Yeah, I'll tell him that", I lied witch fake sincerity in my voice. Ms. Blake bought my lie and smiled gratefully back at me. It clearly felt as if the conversation was over, which was why I then excused myself and left the classroom. If I didn't hurry I would definitely be late for class.

As I rushed through the halls I thought about the fact that I wasn't going to tell Derek about Ms. Blake. Okay, I would tell him if they turned out to be a thing. Otherwise I would simply keep that secret to myself so that Ms. Blake wouldn't have to get mixed up with all of that supernatural mess. 

Maybe I was lying to myself. Maybe I was being selfish. At the moment I really didn't care. I was tired and I didn't feel like being nice. My week had been awful and my day hadn't been any better. Being nice wasn't exactly at the top of my priority list. 

As I stepped into the classroom, just as the bell rang, I left those thoughts behind me. Too much was going on for me to really want to handle anything. So, I sat down at a desk and I took out my notepad. For the whole hour I listened to what the teacher was talking about and I focused. It was the most productive I had felt all week, but it was also completely pointless. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!! Here's the next part, I hope you'll like it! For once I didn't take too long to update so yeah, that's great :) If you liked this part than please leave a comment or kudos, I really appreciate it <3
> 
> Sofija


	14. Alone With Derek

Matt's voice was the only thing I could hear in the empty corridor. The story of how they finally got Elena to turn her humanity back on was being told to me and I listened carefully. I drank up every detail as if it was the most important thing in the story while also being on edge by what would happen next.

"Damon killed you?!", I asked in outrage and shock. Sure, Damon had never been fond of Matt and he wasn't the best person in the world. Still, Matt was one of my closest friends and Damon knew that. It wasn't that I was shocked that Damon had been able to kill Matt but that Damon would have been able to do that with the knowledge of what he meant to me. 

"He knew that I would come back so it's not really a big deal", Matt explained and I could hear how he actually believed those words. A sigh left my lips and, even though I knew that he couldn't see me, I shook my head. To me it wasn't a small thing. It meant so much more to me than what it should have. It was Matt. I never wanted him to die even if he came back. Something could have gone wrong. The risk was always so high and I hated it.

"Matt, please... Dying is always a big deal and we can't trust those rings anymore. Just look at what happened to Alaric! I don't want to lose you like that", I told him with a tiredness to my voice. The words were hard to say because they hit home. After all I'd been through I didn't want to lose anyone else, just like I'd told Derek.

"I haven't used it that much and it's not like I'm going to die again. One time won't hurt... And it's worth it for Elena. You have to understand that." I felt guilty but truth be told, I didn't. Elena was my sister and I wanted her back but something had split us apart. I had a hard time setting her apart from the Elena I knew, maybe because there something more there. I didn't know but my feelings her were complicated. 

"Just promise that you won't do it again", I said instead of addressing his last statement. I leaned back against the lockers and closed my eyes. As I opened them I also turned my head to the side where I noticed Stiles coming towards me. His eyes caught mine and he raised his hand in a greeting. 

"I promise", Matt said in the phone before I hung up. Just as I was putting away my phone Stiles sat down beside me and started talking.

"Okay, I have to talk to you. The thing is, I'm not sure if we can trust you. I mean, you're this really pretty girl who is weirdly knowledgable about supernatural stuff but you're also so vague about it. But then again, Derek trusts you. The problem there is that I don't know if I trust Derek fully. You do seem nice though and you act like you want to help. What I'm getting to is, I don't exactly trust you but I'm starting to", Stiles ranted with a cute frown on his forehead. My anxious mood started to vanish and I smiled at what he had said. Stiles was smart, I couldn't disagree with that, but the way he worded it wasn't too elegantly. 

"It's fine, really. You can be suspicious as long as you don't act weird about it, like stalk me or something. That's just creepy", I joked which he snorted at. He seemed to relax at my chill response. 

"Well, there goes my evening plans", he sighed sarcastically and I chuckled at that. I hadn't really gotten a chance to get to know Stiles but maybe we would get along pretty good.

"Sorry to disappoint", I said just before I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. At first I ignored it, wanting to talk more to Stiles. He was human like me and he seemed pretty reasonable. I wasn't able to ignore my phone for long since another message came soon after the first one. 

**Come to the tunnel - Derek**

A small smile forced it's way onto my face and I felt my face heat up a little. Once I looked up from the screen I saw Stiles look at me with his eyebrows raised. Before answering I got up from the floor and extended a hand to help him up as well.

"Sorry, Stiles, but I seem to be needed elsewhere", I told him apologetically but my smile must have given away how I felt about leaving. He didn't seem to mind though and we said our goodbyes. I was excited to se Derek and I could just hope that he wasn't baring bad news. 

•••

"Hey! How are you doing?", I wondered as I rushed up to Derek who was standing at the end of the tunnel. I couldn't help it, but as I came to him I swung my arms around his neck in relief, even though it kind of hurt to do so. Still, I didn't care if my bruises ached. 

Since the night at Derek's loft when Boyd had died I hadn't seen him. For days Derek had just been missing and I wouldn't be lying if I said that I had been worried about him then. It wasn't that I didn't think that he couldn't take care of himself, it was that I was worried about how Derek was doing emotionally. I hadn't wanted to admit that it was hard not to see or hear from him, but it was pretty hard to deny it once I finally got to see him. 

"Don't worry, I'm alright", he mumbled softly just before I let go of him. He hadn't seemed to mind the hug and, if I'm being honest, neither had I. However, I wanted to look at him and see with my own eyes that there was no worry in them. As I saw how calm and content he seemed I smiled up at him. I could truly see that he was feeling better than he must've a couple of days ago. 

"That's great, you got me worried there for a second", I spoke and even though the words didn't hold any particular seriousness to them my own worry seeped through. It wasn't something I had planned on showing, not in the way I was, but once the cat was out of the bag I couldn't exactly take it back. 

"You don't have to worry about me. Even when I disappear for a few days I'll be fine", he told me sincerely before he raised his hand to gently stroke a few strands away that had fallen into my face. He smiled a small smile as he then let his hand stay on my cheek. 

I stood still, not able to move a muscle. There was a type of calm surrounding Derek that I wasn't used to. I had seen him childish, serious, heartbroken, and happy. Something that always loomed over Derek though was this stiffness. As he stood before me now, with his hand on my cheek, I saw none of that. It caught me completely off guard.

"I'm glad that you came", I mumbled as my eyes quickly darted to his lips, who must have gotten closer. Had we stood this close before? Gun to my head, I couldn't have answered. I just knew that right now we were oh so close and my brain was working too slow. 

"Really?" He seemed hopeful and happy, although distracted as his eyes travelled from my eyes to my lips. My mouth opened slightly and I could feel my tongue dart out to dampen my lips. We were closer again, we had to be. The fact made my heart flutter slightly and it was first now that my brain caught up to what was going on. It was first now that I realized what we were about to do.

"Really", I answered shortly before getting up on my toes and leaning closer. As my brain had caught up I had regained the power to move. I brought my own hand to Derek's shoulder as I leaned in until our lips were just a breath apart. Then I stopped and looked up into his eyes one last time. In the end, he was the one who leaned in the last bit and our lips met. 

My hand on Derek's shoulder tightened just a little as his lips met mine softly. It wasn't a rough kiss, nor was it filled with energy. It was sweet and soft, like we were both just testing out the waters. Everything was like that, his touch and his lips and his kiss. It was hesitant but certain. Out of all the kisses I had shared before, this one stood out in a good way. 

Our mouths parted not long after they had met and both Derek and I caught our breaths. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up in a smile and I opened my closed eyelids slowly. Looking up at Derek, I could see that he too seemed pretty happy. 

We stood there, still close to each other without moving. I wanted to kiss him again but I didn't know if I wanted to do it right then and there. I wanted to stay in the small bubble we had created after the first kiss and just be a little gleeful for a few seconds. 

The shrill ring from the school bell popped the bubble. A sigh escaped my mouth and I felt disappointment fill me. As my hand fell from Derek I turned to look towards the school, feeling more than reluctant about going back.

"Do you have to leave?", Derek wondered then, making it even harder for me to see a reason not to stay. There was also something in Derek's voice that hinted towards the fact that he might have something else in mind for us. That was what finally made it for me. I spun around on my heel and turned to Derek with a smile. 

"Lead the way", I spoke as I held up my hand for him to go first. Instead of doing so, Derek did something that I at the moment only could describe as cute. He looked down at my hand for a second before taking it in his hand and starting to walk. His warm hand in mine surprised me but only caused an even broader smile to fall on my lips. 

"I feel like I might be a bad role model", Derek sheepishly said as he scratched the back of his neck on the way to the school's parking lot. I laughed a little at his words and shook my head before leaning in closer to him.

"I've skipped school countless of times and this time I at least have a pretty good reason for doing so." I knew in my heart that I had skipped school for so many more useless things and that going out with Derek was no where near the silliest reason for me to skip. 

We walked onto the parking lot and without much difficulty I could see Derek's car stand out from all the crappy cars around it. Not that everyone at school had bad cars, but Derek's was exceptionally expensive looking and the others were cars of students. It wasn't exactly a surprise that Derek's car was prettier.

"So, do you like coffee?", he wondered after we had gotten inside. I couldn't say that I knew exactly where Derek was going to take me but I thought I would like what he had in mind.

"I happen to love coffee", I answered and saw how this seemed to ease Derek's mind. Whatever he had planned for us would apparently work. Now, I wasn't saying that it sounded like we were going on a date but it wasn't exactly a non-date either. To be honest, I was just really happy to be able to spend time with Derek at last. 

•••

"Aren't you warm in that?", Derek wondered which made me look up from my coffee. He was motioning towards hoodie that I was wearing over a T-shirt. It was quite hot in the café but I couldn't take the hoodie off. Not when it was covering up my bruises. At the moment I didn't feel like revealing the reasoning behind my fashion choice. 

"No, I'm fine with this." I decided not to tell him about my purple spotted arms. He already had a lot of reasons to not like the alphas, I didn't need to give him another one. The more anger he had towards them, the bigger risk of him acting irrationally and doing something stupid. It was better if we split the anger between us, not shared it. Also, we were having a good time and I didn't want to ruin the mood

"You sure?", he asked. I just gave him a smile and nodded. He still didn't seem completely convinced, but let it go nonetheless. I was grateful for that. He didn't need to know about it and therefor it wasn't important. I didn't want to deal with him being all mad at the alphas at that moment so I wasn't going to say anything. 

"What class are you missing right now? I kind of feel bad about making you skip", he told me with a smile. I flipped away a piece of hair that had fallen in my face before answering him.

"It's just english and it's not like I haven't skipped before. Wait! You know our english teacher, right?" I applauded myself for the amazing segue where I would be able to ask Derek about our teacher without having to bring up the talk we had, had earlier.

"I saved her once and then we talked once after that. Her name's Jennifer, right?", he wondered and I felt joy fill my insides although I did not let it show. He didn't know her and Ms. Blake was just a little bit interested in him. That was great news for me. That and the kiss we had shared earlier made things seem to really be in my favor. 

"Oh, okay then", I just answered vaguely as if it ment nothing to me. Derek seemed curious as to why I had asked him about her but I wasn't going to say anything if he didn't ask. 

Derek frowned as he seemed to study me for awhile before he simply shrugged it off. That was at least what it looked like. Suddenly he grabbed the sleeve of my sweater and pulled it down. I had no time to react and without being able to stop him, Derek revealed one of the bruises on my arm. As quickly as I could I pulled my arm from his grip and covered it up again. When I looked at Derek he seemed both worried and angry.

"Hannah, is this what the twins did to you? Did you get it the other night in my loft?", he wondered in a hard and restrained tone. I put a hand on his arm that rested on the table between us. He looked down at my hand and then looked towards me, still frowning. I was not going to let him go all mad werewolf.

"It's from the alphas, yes. You don't have to worry about it, though. I see that look that you have right now and I don't want you to get worked up over this. It's not even the worst injury I've had", I tried to explain to him with a shrug but it seemed to do very little to calm him down. I tried to make my face look as convincing as possible which I hoped would change Derek's mood at least a little bit.

"Of course I get worked up over you being hurt! That you have been through worse doesn't mean that this isn't bad!" I looked around us to see if anyone was noticing Derek's mood, but no one was sparing us an eye. I leaned a little closer over the table as I also grabbed Derek's shoulders in my hands. I shook my head as I looked out the window next to us. Derek cared about my well being and in any other situation I would have been happy about that. I just didn't want him to do something stupid or irrational, especially since I felt as if he didn't know me well enough yet. I didn't want him to put himself in danger because of me.

"Don't worry. You have more important things to care about and this isn't that important." Derek was watching me carefully before he leaned back in his seat. He still seemed unhappy, but at least he had calmed down a little bit. His anger had mostly disappeared and the only thing remaining was his frown.

"I'm going to be worried when you're hurt, that's just the way it is", he told me stubbornly before he got up from his seat. He waved towards the waitress, motioning that he was going to pay. I studied his actions, searching for any sign that his anger had returned. I couldn't see it. 

"I think we should leave", he sighed before turning to the waitress who came up to the table. I felt a disappointed over the change of mood that had happened. I hadn't wanted us to get in an argument. Not about something that I could handle, that he didn't need to be bothered with.

We walked out of the café together and he was going to drive me back to the school so that I could get my car. I put my hand on his arm before he could get into the car, making him turn around.

"I just don't want you to have more things to worry about, but thank you. It's nice to have someone who cares", I told him with a small and sincere smile. His eyes softened and he smiled back. I let my hand fall off his arm before I went around the car and towards the passenger seat. When I opened the car door I could see that Derek was still smiling slightly as he got in the car himself. Maybe the afternoon hadn't been perfect like I had hoped, but imperfect didn't mean bad. Imperfect was more than good enough for me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!
> 
> Guess who's back after like 50 years with an update?!!? So so sorry about not updating for so long, I tried (and failed) to do Nanowrimo and it took so much time out of my day so I didn't have any time to write on this. Now I'm finally done with the chapter though and I really hope that you guys enjoyed it! Thank you so much for reading!!!!! <3


	15. I Can't Forgive

Being a normal teenager entailed a vast variety of things. It entailed getting up early in the morning for school. It entailed making moronic decisions. It entailed freaking out about what to do about the future. All of those things were pretty annoying, but I had missed them all the same while fighting the supernatural in Mystic Falls.

What I had definitely not missed were all of the different school activities that were mandatory. As I stepped into the room  I had no interest in staying. School recitals were probably incredibly fun if you were interested in music and such. I wasn't. That wasn't the only reason behind my disdain for being in school.

As one problem had left my brain one had quickly replaced it and made my mind spin. The next topic I was freaking out about was sacrifices. We had no idea who was next or who was a potential target. To say that I was being a little bit paranoid was an incredible understatement. What if I fit in one of those categories? We didn't know how powerful the person who were performing the sacrifices was. I would probably be a goner if they got me, no matter how though I played or how much experience I had with these sorts of things.

The auditorium filled with students while I stood at the back of the room, regretting ever coming. As I stood there I saw the musicians preparing for their performance, making sure that their instruments and sheets were in order. The only people I knew who were present at the moment were Ethan and Aiden. If the choice was between standing all alone at the back and of talk to them I was happy to just stand in the corner. Still, I was left alone and bored which wasn't exactly ideal.

My hand absentmindedly went to my jacket pocket as I debated on whether I should check my phone one more time. Since Cora, Derek's sister, had been hurt pretty badly because of a fight with Aiden I wanted to know how she was doing. Stiles had been the one to initially tell me what had happened but Derek had since then updated me on the situation and last I heard he was with her in the hospital. 

Still, I felt pretty frustrated. No one had told me much else about what they were planning, or even if they were planning anything in retaliation. Without knowing anything I just felt so useless and stuck in this damn situation and all I could do was wait for recitals to start. 

In the end, I let my hand fall to my side without checking for new messages on my phone. This was mostly because my eyes caught Allison, Mr. Argent and Isaac strolling inside the room. The relief of finally seeing some familiar faces brightened my entire mood and the previous restless thoughts almost vanished. 

My feet were just about to carry me towards the small group when I caught sight of two new people entering the auditorium. For a moment I froze and my eyes widened in both shock and nervousness. The need to hide filled me and I rushed over to Allison and the others so that they could shield me from view. I my mind I knew that it wasn't the best cover but I didn't exactly have any other choice. 

 "Please, don't move away from me. Okay?", I asked in a hushed whisper as I looked pleadingly at the three people in front of me. They all seemed pretty confused about my request, but at least they didn't argue about it. 

This in no way stopped them from finding me. We were just about to step into the row of chairs when I felt a hand fall upon my shoulder. For a second I just imagined bolting and leaving, but the thought barely passed my brain before I realized how silly it was. Instead I knew that I would have to turn around and face Damon and my sister. 

It was the first time in probably a month, if not more, that I saw my sister. Elena. The first thing I noticed was her hair. It might have seemed silly, but I just immediately thought about how it looked different it looked. 

The second thing I noticed was her eyes. They were filled with hope and at the same nervousness. As she looked at me I saw how she was watching me as if I was about to do something soon, whether it was good or bad. I couldn't meet her eyes when she watched me like that. 

"Come on", Damon stiffly said before he motioned with his hand towards the doors leading into the school. Even though he seemed to know that I actually didn't want to go with him his voice left no room for argument, not that it meant that I wouldn't at least try to get out of this. 

I turned back around to Allison, Isaac and Mr. Argent who were all watching the exchange closely, ready to jump to my defense at any second. Especially Mr. Argent seemed to be on high alert and he immediately took notice of the discomfort on my face. 

"Hannah? Is everything alright?", he wondered as he took a step closer to me. I gav a look behind my shoulder to see Damon roll his eyes with annoyance while Elena seemed to feel very out of place. Everything in me screamed to take Chris' offer to help me out of there, but then there was that one small part that stopped me from doing so. Oh, how I hated that part. 

"I'm okay. I know them, they're my sister and a friend. I'll be right back", I sighed in disappointment. As I looked between the two smaller groups I noticed the recognition in Isaac's eyes as he looked at the pair. Sure, he hadn't met my sister last time Damon had come to visit but Katherine were identical to Elena. The small frown of confusion on his forehead must have been because of how I suddenly claimed that this person was my sister. 

Surprisingly it wasn't Mr. Argent who stopped me from leaving. It was Allison. She grabbed a soft hold of my wrist just as I was about to leave. There was worry in her face and an open invitation for her to do something. I didn't know if she was trying to tell me that she could come with me or stop me from going, but it didn't really matte. My answer was the same to both questions. 

"I'll only be a minute", I promised although I couldn't force any type of reassessment onto my face. Still, I pushed through and turned to walk towards the doors. Whatever Elena and Damon wanted to talk to me about would be emotional and tough for me, but it had to be done. Not only did I know that it was probably good for me to talk it through, but I also knew that they wouldn't just accept my answer if I refused to follow them. 

As I stepped into the almost empty corridor I could hear two pairs of footsteps following me. I didn't stop though as I continued walking towards until we reached a part of the school that was completely empty but also more secluded. Once I was content with the spot I turned around and came face to face to the two people that knew me the best. Just meeting their eyes made my stomach clench, so I looked to the floor. 

"I am so sorry, Hannah. I'm sorry for every single thing that I did to you", Elena started to say and I heard her taking a step closer to me. My body involuntarily tensed up and I quickly looked up towards her. I saw her freezing in her spot, the hand she had raised to me dropped. 

"Yeah, I figured", was the bitter answer that slipped out. Maybe it was slightly harsh, slightly cold. The good thing would be to just forgive her and hug it out. The simple thing would have been to just accept her apology and move on. The only problem was that it wouldn't have been honest. That would only lead to me having repressed anger towards her.

It hadn't been Elena's fault, not entirely at least. Rationally I should have been just as mad at Damon for telling Elena to turn her emotions off since he _knew_ that she would have to do it. But there was no anger towards him. I couldn't force myself to feel something I wasn't, even though my current emotions made zero sense. 

I had tried to gather my thoughts on why I felt so betrayed by Elena and I hadn't come to a clear conclusion. The closest thing I had thought of was that I just wanted her to care about me enough to turn them back on. That she would see how much I was hurting and how lonely I felt that she would come back to me. She had just abandoned me at one of the lowest parts of my life and seeing that hadn't been enough to make her come back. 

My answer clearly made Elena's demeanor crumble as she turned to look at the ground while scratching at her arm. Seeing her like that made slight guilt flare up inside of me, but I stubbornly pushed it down. Especially when I saw the pleading look she gave Damon and I realized what would be coming my way. 

"Come on, Hannah, just listen to her. I know that it's hard, but just give her a chance", Damon reasoned with stern eyes. I didn't know if I should roll my eyes, chuckle darkly, or shake my head at his words. In the end I settled for the latter. I tried to find a response that wouldn't hurt anyone's feelings but I came up blank. If I was going to be honest I might not sound as nice as both of them wanted me to be.

"Do you think I want to be hurt? Do you think I want to be mad? I really can't help how I feel right now. If I could chose I would just say fuck it and go back home with you guys. I would live in blissful ignorance of all the shit happening around me. I wouldn't feel physically sick when thinking about going back home or seeing you! It would be so easy if I could just feel what you guys want me to feel, but I _can't_ just turn off my emotions", I rambled in frustration as I felt all of my pent up emotions started to sip through. Elena gasped as her whole demeanor turned even more restricted while Damon looked as if he wanted to stop me from talking. 

That was when I realized what I had said. Their reactions spoke louder than any words they could have said. Maybe I shouldn't have chosen those exact words at the end, hitting the exact sore spot I should have avoided. Still, the mixture of frustration and hurt pushed away any regret I would have felt. 

"Hannah, I know that it is really hard for you but if you would just...", Elena started but I interrupted her as I shook my head and turned away from the two vampires. Both of them were looking at me as if they were parents trying to explain to their kid that they shouldn't had done something. Maybe Elena tried to act like she understood, but neither of them understood why I couldn't forgive Elena that easily. In their eyes, I was at fault. 

"Forget it. I can't do this", I told them, ignoring the lump that had formed in my throat as I started to walk away from them. I had barely taken a few steps when their groans reached my ears and I spun around quickly in concern. They were bent over, their hands at their heads and pain in their faces. However, I couldn't see anything that could have possibly caused them any pain. We were the only ones in the corridor. 

"What's going on?", I asked as I stepped closer to them. That was when they finally dropped their hands and any sign of pain vanished. Their eyes were filled with worry and alarm.

"It was a scream. I have never heard anything like it before", Damon explained with a distant look, as if he was trying to search his mind of what could have happened. As the sound of footsteps started to echo I spun towards the sound. There I saw Scott rushing down the corridor with Stiles following a little bit later. Without any thought I started to hurry their way. Before I got very far, a hand on my wrist stopped me. When I spun around I was met with Damon's grim expression. 

"Don't go there", he ordered me sternly. His strong hold on my hand made it impossible to get free, even though I tried. I didn't stop and it probably hurt more than it help but I wouldn't listen to him.

"Let go, Damon! I have to help them. It's way above staying here and watching you judge me for hurting about you guys abandoning me! Here I have people who talk and care about me, people I _can_ talk to! These matter to me and I have to help them, so let go off me", I harshly shouted at Damon and I saw his surprise at my sudden outburst. this was my chance and I violently ripped my arm from his grip. Before I turned around I gave him and Elena one last disappointed look. 

Sprinting at full speed the way I had seen Scott and Stiles running, my mind started racing about what could have happened. I turned one last corner and saw Stiles outside one of the classrooms, trying to break in. Without asking any questions I immediately started helping him as I got there. It was impossible. 

The small window on the door showed the sheriff raising his gun towards Ms. Blake while Lydia was tied to a chair, her face tearstained. Further away, Scott was laying on the ground, a small pool of blood by his face. It didn't take a genius to realize that Ms. Blake was the enemy. 

With all my power I tried to break down the door. I threw my body towards it, to no avail. Ms. Blake got shot by the sheriff but she barely reacted. The franticness had replaced my anger and I knew that I had to help, that I had to get in there. But _I_ couldn't do anything. 

"Damon! Please, Damon, I need your help!", I cried out into the empty corridor, hoping that he would hear me. Then I threw myself at the door one more time and, to my surprise, it opened. We couldn't get it completely open, but enough for one person to go in at a time and I let Stiles pass first. Once I finally got inside it was too late.

"Dad?", Stiles' broken voice asked but there wasn't anyone there to answer him. Stiles, Scott, Lydia, and I were the only ones left in the room. My eyes met Stiles with sadness and I saw how lost he seemed as he realized that his dad was gone.

"Hannah!", Damon's voice suddenly yelled and I heard the door break as he hurried inside. My eyes shifted from Stiles and met with Damon's instead. As he realized that I was alright he sighed in relief. With just a few steps he was in front of me and his arms were around me in a tight hug. Without hesitation I put my arms around him.  

"I love you guys, okay? I really do but I just don't really know what to do right now. Please, just understand that I can't pretend that I'm fine just because it would be easier." I could feel Damon nodding before he placed his head on top of mine. He seemed to have been extremely worried about me. It just reminded me of how much he, and Elena, actually cared for me, and how much I cared about them. Even though I couldn't just forgive, I would try. 

The sound of a sob brought us out of the moment and I remembered Lydia, who was still tied to a chair. As quickly as I could I broke free from Damon's arms and rushed over to Lydia. She was still crying and there was clear fear on her face. After I had freed her from the chair I put a comforting hand on her back and helped her up. 

"Let's get you home, okay?" I calmly asked as I tried to help her stand up. She was shaking, which was understandable. When she got up I noticed a line across her throat and it looked as if maybe someone had tried to cut or strangle her. 

To my surprise, Lydia suddenly turned towards me and threw her arms around me. It wasn't a thankful hug and she it wasn't to have a shoulder to cry on. It seemed more as if she was relieved and needed some support. I didn't care though, I just hugged her back until she felt as if she could let go. 

When she let go we turned to face the others in the room and it was then that I realized that Elena was in the room. Our eyes met and I could see her look towards me with hope. I couldn't give her what she wanted, but still I nodded towards her. It was a way of saying that things would be okay, even if they weren't right now. 

"Let's get out of here", Lydia decided after clearing her throat. She seemed to have pulled herself together slightly and I applauded her for that. Still, I kept my arm around her as we walked out of the school and to my car. As I was driving her home I couldn't help but think of Stiles. His dad was gone and he had no idea what would happen to him. Worst case scenario, his dad would be sacrificed. I knew that I needed to help him, but there was nothing more I could do that night. Everything would have to wait until morning. After everything that had happened that day sleep would be a blessing. Hopefully tomorrow would carry better things, if we were lucky. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> So, I don't exactly know how these things happen. I update a chapter and think "Yeah, I'll publish the next one in a week" AND THEN 3 weeks pass and I don't know how I could have procrastinated writing for so long!!! ANYWAY, sorry about the delay, I wasn't really planning on it. I hope y'all like the chapter though and THANK YOU FOR READING IT!!!!! <3


	16. No Rest

As the dark streets passed me on the way back from Lydia's the radio was playing some old songs on a low volume. My tiredness made it hard to keep focus on anything and I felt as if I was in some sort of vacuum. It was strange and truly spoke volumes about how I really should be going to bed. 

The sound of my phone buzzing grabbed my attention and while keeping my eyes on the road I reached out to grab ahold of the phone. It was a stupid and unsafe thing to do, but I knew that if I didn't check the text it would be itching at the back of my mind until I got home which wouldn't do things any better. 

**You need to get to Derek's ASAP. I'll explain when you get here - Stiles**

A tired sigh left my lips as I threw the phone back to the seat next to me. Every part of my aching body begged me to ignore the text and just keep on driving towards the apartment. It would have been so easy to just go home and go to sleep, leaving whatever problem for the next day. It was so tempting. 

As I swerved the car around and started to head in the direction of Derek's apartment I cursed myself. Of course it would be easy to just ignore whatever might have been going on. However, it wasn't easy to ignore the possible danger my friends would be facing. I wasn't the most ethical nor was I especially righteous of me, but I couldn't ignore my friends when they needed me. 

If I was honest one thing that was truly gnawing at my mind was Stiles. He must have had such a horrible time. His dad was missing, taken. Stiles didn't have to privilege to be able to go to sleep just because he might be tired. If he didn't do something tonight, he might be an orphan when morning comes. That was the worst part of it all.

Ignoring the speed limit, I stepped on the gas and rushed towards Derek's apartment. My mind might've been a little bit more alert but I was still tired. It was such a bad idea for me to speed and if I met someone else on the roads that wasn't paying attention something really bad could've happened. Still, I put all of my effort on focusing on my surroundings and luckily got to Derek's without any accident happening. 

As I hurried up the building towards the loft I wished that I wasn't late. My hand came down hard on the metal door as I knocked. For every second that passed before the door opened, flashes of horrible scenarios played in my mind. 

"Don't be so loud! Do you know what time it is?", Stiles complained as he pulled the door open. Did I know what time it was? I didn't know what made me more frustrated, Stiles' calm exterior or the fact that nothing seemed to be wrong. 

"So, what's going on? I think I'm seconds from just passing out right now and if this isn't as important as you guys made it out to be I might start crying because I'm so exhausted." Once I came into the loft my eyes looked around to asses the situation. Derek and Scott looked quite shocked at my outburst while Stiles didn't seem to care. Actually, he seemed completely focused on something entirely different and I realized that he didn't have a calm exterior, he was internally freaking out and he wasn't entirely focused on the current situation. 

"Well, Ms. Blake has been kind obsessing over Derek so we think she's going to come here. She'll probably try to convince Derek to join her and if she's coming here we'll be able to ask her where my dad is", Stiles explained quickly, rushing over each word as if he didn't have the time to say them. I knew that I could have probably argued for the fact that I didn't need to be there to help them, but I wasn't going to do so. 

"Okay, now that you are all filled in on this the three of us need to hide", Stiles continued motioning to himself, Scott and I. I could hear how his voice was about to falter in that moment and I wanted to say something to make him feel better. At the same time, I was well aware of the fact that there was really nothing I could say to do so. His dad was in life threatening danger, nothing I said would make that feel any easier. 

I followed Scott and Stiles towards a more secluded part of the loft where we then waited in silence. I fidgeted with my fingers slightly as I tried to ignore the tiredness creeping closer towards me. However, before the wait could become too unbearable the sound of echoing footsteps reached my ears. Even though I knew that Ms. Blake wouldn't be able to hear me, I held my breath as I waited for what would happen. 

"Derek? Derek, where are you?", Ms. Blake yelled out and her voice echoed through the dark apartment. Outside the storm was raging, flashes and thunder booming. When I heard the desperation in Ms. Blake's voice I felt a small flash of anger go through my heart. Jealousy.

So, the problem with Derek and I was that we hadn't really established anything between us. We were definitely not a couple but we had kissed and basically gone on a date. I knew what I felt towards him. Still, I didn't know if my jealousy was reasonable since we technically weren't together. 

"Right here", Derek's voice called out. From where we were hiding we couldn't see what was going on and the curiosity was eating away at me. It was way too risky to lean around the corner to see what was happening though so I had to sit through the damn nagging feeling at the back of my mind.

"Thank God. Something happened at the recital. At the school. Okay, I need to tell you before you hear it, before you hear any of it from them", Ms. Blake spoke and I once again felt jealousy as her voice was filled with such affection. Derek had told me that there was nothing between them, and I trusted him. Just the thought of her imagining something else bothered me immensely. It wasn't something I wanted to feel, but I couldn't really help it.

"From who?" The fact that Derek didn't even sound half as interested in her as she was with him made the some type of spiteful glee fill me.

"Scott, Stiles. They're gonna tell you things. Things you can't believe. You have to trust me, okay? You trust me." Really? In what way did she think that Derek knew her better than Scott and Stiles? I mean, even I was closer to Derek than she was! Well, that was if Derek had been telling the truth. I trusted him, I really did! However, for every word she said I started to feel more and more doubt seep into me.

I heard them speaking but their voices were muffled. When I looked towards Stiles I saw that he too couldn't hear anything. Scott seemed to hear it though, and he wore a disgusted look on his face. What it meant I never got to found out as I then heard Ms. Blake's voice again.

"They're already here, aren't they? So... they told you it was me? That I'm the one taking people?" Scott started to move out with Stiles and I following close behind. We came into clear view before Scott started speaking.

"We told him you're the one killing people", he said with fierceness in his voice. Yeah, he wasn't leaving any room for debating. Ms. Blake turned around and as her eyes fell on me I saw an emotion flash across her face that I couldn't quite read. Before I could figure it out she turned into her innocent mask once more.

"Oh, that's right. Committing human sacrifices? What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour. That way, I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. That makes sense", she scoffed acting as if she had no idea what we were talking about. I wasn't having it though, especially since Stiles' dad was still in danger and we didn't have any time to argue about this.

"Okay, could you just listen for a sec? He knows what we know and nothing you say will convince him otherwise, so just drop the whole innocent shit. It's unnecessary and, frankly, just really bad acting." The last part might've not been that necessary but it felt good to say it. The look Ms. Blake gave me, completely murderous, just made it so much better.

"You're just a jealous little teenager who wants me to get away from him", she said as if she was talking with a child. Clearly, the words were meant to offend me but I was bothered more by her tone. Still, I kept my cool. With just a calm and collected step forward I met her eyes with a heartless smile.

"If you weren't such a murdering bitch I would maybe feel bad for your delusional self. It's hard to be jealous of someone who is so far from being a threat", I told her simply and shrugged as if this matter was nothing to me. Yes, I had been jealous but she didn't need to know that.

"It doesn't matter. You still can't prove your theory about me", Ms. Blake spat, completely changing the subject to what we had been talking about before. I was about to answer when Scott butted in.

"What if we could?", he said, clearly plotting. Just looking to his hand, I could see that he was holding a jar of some sort. It seemed to be filled with dust or something resembling dust. My focus had been on the jar and I had kind of spaced so when Scott suddenly threw it I was surprised. 

What my eyes met when they followed the pulver made my heart stop. Ms. Blake seemed to transform as it hit her. For only a second I was met with a horrendous creature before she turned back to normal, the dust disappearing from the air. Out of all the things I had seen in my life, that was one of the most shocking things. I didn't even know how to react to it. 

Then Ms. Blake tried to bolt, but she had barely gotten anywhere before Derek caught her by the throat and lifted her into the air. Once more I felt myself focus on something and space out. Derek's claws had made me stop and my focus slipped. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe something else. Whatever it was, I knew it wasn't good. 

"Where's my father?", Stiles asked, loudly and with tears in his eyes. It was his voice that brought me out of my distracted state. Ms. Blake was still dangling from Derek's grip but I saw a smile on her lips. A smile that made me just feel such hate towards her, more than I had previously felt. It made me want to do things I weren't particularly fond of.

"I'm the only one who knows where he is. He's not the only one in danger though." I could have sworn that the rest of us all felt a slight panic reach us in that moment. Her words held such a warning and we all knew what it meant. Anyone we knew and cared about could be in danger. Of course it was someone we cared about, we just didn't know who. It could be anyone.

"Your sister, Cora. I'm the only one who can save her." Well, we didn't need to wonder for long. As the rest of us felt slight relief that it wasn't someone close to us, our attention turned to Derek. He seemed hesitant to believe her, but a quick call to his uncle proved that Ms. Blake was indeed telling the truth. Cora was poisoned. 

I wanted to say something to Derek. I wanted to do something. Still, I couldn't come up with a single thing that might be fitting in this situation. Derek seemed to be at a loss of what to do as well, as he just stood there for a short while. Then his grip on Ms. Blake seemed to tighten. 

"Derek?"

"Stop, Derek!" 

"No, stop!", Scott, Stiles and I yelled out at the same time. If he killed her, if he killed the only chance of saving his sister, I knew that it would haunt him. There was no way in hell I was letting him do this to himself. Still, Derek didn't seem to actually do anything to her. Well, that was until his eyes fell on the rest of us and he then let her go. 

"That's right. You need me. All of you." I felt like pointing out that I didn't need her, but it wasn't the time. Also, I could just feel my energy slipping away at an alarming pace. I knew that I couldn't stay there. Something was just not right and I had no idea what. It was kind of freaking me out, but I tried to keep up the possibility of it only being fatigue. 

"You guys, go to the hospital and help Cora. I need to do something", I interrupted and successfully got all of their attention on me. My voice made it sound as if whatever I was supposed to be doing was important, when it really wasn't. I knew that Derek, Scott and Stiles would have probably understood if I bolted because of my tiredness. Ms. Blake would have probably taunted me and I did not feel like listing to that.

"Okay, but be careful", Derek told me and gave me a pointed look, a look that made me want to hug him. Of course, I didn't do it but I wanted to. However, I couldn't help but to smile and shake my head as I started to back out of the apartment. I found it a little bit sweet that he actually showed that he cared about me in front of the others. 

"Don't worry, I always have people watching my back", I told him before disappearing out the door. That was mostly true, but my mission didn't need me to be protected. The only thing that could attack me while I slept was my own nightmares.

•••

"I don't want to just leave you here", Elena sighed as she stood in front of me. She couldn't quite meet my eyes but I could still the sadness lurking in them. Seeing that reminded me so much of who she was. It reminded me of the Elena who I had put all of my trust in, the one I hadn't seen in a while. It made it harder to see her go. 

It still wasn't okay between us. I wasn't just going to hug it out or something, but as morning had came so had a clearer head. I was still freaked out about why I had been so exhausted the previous night but I felt alright. It made it easier to not feel so hurt and angry. I wasn't going to forgive her but that didn't mean that I wasn't going to miss her when she wasn't there. It was the same as when she hadn't had her humanity, I still missed her.

"I know, but I don't want to leave." It was true. Sure, things were quite strange in Beacon Hills but I still felt so much better than in Mystic Falls. Mythical creatures might have been running around on the streets but it wasn't the same. I felt more in control in Beacon Hills. I felt as if I wasn't always fighting an unbeatable game where the price was the love of my loved ones. No matter how bad things got I wouldn't suffer like I had. 

"Why?", Elena wondered, finally looking up at me. The sadness was still there, but now mixed with her signature determination. That look had made me do a lot of things during our childhood, but this time was different. This wasn't her convincing me to do the dishes. This was so much more important. A look wasn't going to make me go back. 

"Because... I really like it here. Even though I don't know everyone that well I'm still important to them. I actually feel like I can do some good and help the people here. Elena, I know that you might not understand it, but I need this. I need to stay here", I explained calmly with a sincere look on my face. She didn't seem convinced and there was clearly an argument brewing on the tip of her tongue. I had no plans on arguing her on this though. I didn't want to fight her over this, not when she was leaving. So, I stopped her by simply putting up my hand. 

"Please, Elena. If there's anything you've always valued it's free will. You always get to make your own decisions, let me do the same. I love you and I'll miss you, even if things might not go back to how things were. I can't go back with you, not yet", I stated. I really couldn't go back, not if I wanted to feel happy. 

"Okay, Hannah. I love you, and please take care of yourself", Elena whispered after a couple of seconds of silence. It clearly wasn't easy for her to let it go, but she did. I suspected that it was because she wanted to make things easier between us. It didn't matter though, why she did it. As long as she let me go I was happy. With a sad smile she turned around and got into the car. When the car door closed I turned towards the vampire in a leather jacket.

"I don't know if I can trust you to stay safe", Damon told me with a shake of his head and a crooked smile. The thought of my weird mood the previous night came to mind but I ignored it, figuring it was no point to mention it. As I engulfed him in a big hug I instead smiled sadly. Saying good bye once more was harder than I wanted to believe.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine, I promise. Just don't let anyone die", I murmured and hugged him tighter before letting go. He looked down at me and kissed the top of my head before giving me a sad smile.

"I'll do my best. I love you", he told me and I nodded. I couldn't really except more from him. 

"I love you too. Bye, Damon." Then I watched as he got into the car and started to drive away. My heart was heavy as my sister and the guy I saw as a brother left. I just hoped that I would get to see them again. That when my sister's graduation rolled around I would be able to go and see her and all of our friends finish school. That I could go back to Mystic Falls without feeling my whole being filling with dread. It wasn't that long until graduation. We just needed to survive until then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!
> 
> So, happy holidays everyone I hope everything's great!! For once I didn't take forever to update and I feel so great about it :) Hope you liked this and thank you so much for reading this, it means a lot to me!!! THANKS!! <3


	17. Save A Life

Just because my life was spiraling into some familiar madness, it didn't mean that I could just press paus on my normal life. School was still a thing and I wanted to at least try to attend. I wasn't going to fall into old habits where I barely remembered which classes I was in. 

So, after a tough morning where I had to say goodbye to Elena and Damon, I drove off to school. I sure as hell didn't want to but I knew that I had to. If I wanted the God damn normalcy that had made me leave Mystic Falls to begin with, I had to do the things I didn't want to. So what I was freaking out about my friend's parent possibly dying and also like about my own health? It wasn't like there were any vampires in Beacon Hills that could just compel the teachers to give me good grades. I actually had to do the hard work to earn them. 

"Gilbert, would you like to answer?", the teacher asked me, clearly aware of my lack of attentiveness. Coach Finstock seemed pretty unimpressed by  my behavior, but as I met his eyes calmly he seemed to realize that he wouldn't be able to intimidate me. Out of all the things I had to worry about every single day, one teacher's annoyance wasn't that high on the list. 

"Actually, I'm fine. Thanks though", I simply answered with a sweet smile on my lips. Easy to say that no one had expected such an answer from me, someone who was usually silent in class, so there was complete silence for a moment after I spoke. As I looked innocently at the teacher I saw how he contemplated what to do about me. 

"Alright then", Finstock sighed, not having enough energy to actually do anything about my answer. As he turned to face the board I let smugness seep into my smile. Many teachers liked to act all important and harsh, but not all of them were able to actually go through with their threats. 

The other students seemed more than confused and they were all glancing at me occasionally during the rest of the hour. It was a bit amusing at first but after the first ten minutes I started wondering if they were even teenagers. How could they be so surprised about something talking back to a teacher? It wasn't as if I had two heads or anything. I just did what many students before had done, and many would come to do. It wasn't strange!

The second the bell rung, signaling the end of the hour, I was up and out of the classroom. I had been kind of trying to pay attention, but at the same time I was miserable. Not only was so much shit going on that felt much more important, I was all alone in class. Scott and Stiles who would usually be there weren't and it worried me to not know if they were alright. 

"Hannah! Hey, Hannah!", the voice echoed as I trudged down the corridor towards the next lesson. As the familiar voice reached me I whirled around to meet Stiles who was making his way through the flood of students. Seeing him alive and physically well brought relief to me although the clear trouble in his eyes prepared me for whatever shitstorm was coming. 

"I need to talk to you, right _now_ ", Stiles declared as he reached me. His steps didn't stop as he came up to me. Instead he grabbed ahold of my wrist and started to drag me down the corridor. The curiosity about whatever was going on won over my need to live in the normal world, so I kept quiet about the fact that my next class would start in five minutes. Actually, I stayed completely silent until I noticed how he was leading me towards the main entrance. 

"Where are we going?", I asked just as we passed through the doors, sunlight hitting me straight in the eyes. As I brought up my hand to shield myself from the sun I saw us wedding to the parking lot, furthering my curiosity. 

"We need to get out of school for awhile. With so many people there anyone could hear us, especially if they have supernatural hearing." It wasn't exactly hard to figure out that Stiles was referring to the twins. Whatever he wanted to tell me wasn't for their ears. 

"Okay, but where exactly are we going?", I wondered once more just as we stopped by Stiles old jeep. He looked up at me, almost as if surprised at the fact that he himself hadn't answered my question.

"Well, I was thinking that getting some coffee would be nice. What do you think?", he said, although it didn't exactly sound as if my input would matter much. Not that I was opposed to his suggestion, I really craved that sweet caffeine. 

"Sounds like a plan", I answered as I climbed into his car, waiting for him to do the same. Silence followed us afterwards and I could feel this one question nagging at the back of my mind. While I really wanted to ask, I was somewhat scared of what the answer would be. 

"So... What happened yesterday?" We had left the school and were headed towards the same café where I had been with Derek. The question had finally left my lips and I waited anxiously for his answer. Stiles was tapping on the steering wheel, maybe anxious or worried or maybe it was just a small tick. 

"A lot. I mean, nothing good. Ms. Blake escaped before helping Cora so it feels like we did everything in vain", he sighed and I could see how frustrated he felt just by looking in his eyes. The news made a twinge of guilt and sadness hit me. Even though I was fully aware of the fact that I might've passed out if I hadn't gone home last night, I couldn't help but wonder about what would have happened if I had stayed. Maybe I would have been able to do something that would have helped Cora. The worst part was that I knew that Derek must've been beating himself up even worse than I was. 

"Well, it could have been worse", I said in an attempt to keep some form of optimism intact. At the grim look on Stiles' face I knew that there had to be more, that something worse had happened. 

"It was, but I need some coffee before I get into that. I seriously think I'm about to pass out any second." It wasn't just him staying up late to go to the hospital that had kept him up last night, I could tell. Not only must he have been so worried about his dad, but whatever else had happened had just made things worse. It would've surprised me more if he had even been able to get an hour of sleep last night. 

"Yeah, alright. Although with all this shit happening around us a real drink would probably be just as good", I sighed as I leaned my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. If for a minute I would just get to feel some sort of numbness I would have been happy. From the agreeing scoff coming from my left I could tell that Stiles agreed. However we also knew that we needed to stay focused. (Also, what bar would let in two seventeen year-olds? We weren't getting a drink even if we wanted one.)

Only minutes later we arrived at the café. The warm smell of coffee and pastries hit me as soon as I stepped inside. My previous, anxious state calmed down severely just by being consumed by something so homey and nice. The fact that there were very few people sitting inside made me even happier as it meant an even calmer environment. 

After having ordered our drinks we both carried them over to a both near the windows. While waiting for Stiles to start explaining the situation I let my hands rest around the hot cup. He stayed silent though, looking down at his own drink with a small wrinkle between his eyebrows. No matter how calming the surroundings were, they didn't stop the anxiousness to return the longer the silence stretched around us. Could it really be so bad that Stiles didn't know what to say?

"Okay, please just tell me what happened. I think I might combust if you don't say something", I sighed as I put one of my hands over his. Before turning up to look at me, his whole body seemed to slump down in resignation. His eyes spoke volumes of how much he didn't want to talk about what had happened, spoke of how his helplessness. Still, he knew he had to talk about this and he told me everything. 

We had lost Ms. Blake. 

Cora was still sick.

Stiles' dad was still missing and our time was running out.

Scott's mom had been taken by Ms. Blake. 

Scott had left us for the alpha pack. 

I rested by head in my hands as I tried to process everything that Stiles had told me. As I tried to search through my brain for a solution I felt such frustration when I just came up blank. There were so many things that needed fixing and there was nothing I could do about any of them. I didn't even know where to start! 

"I know, it's really bad", Stiles commented, clearly seeing my inner turmoil. As a sigh left my lips, I straightened up and pulled a hand through my hair in annoyance.

"Sorry about my language but fuck!", I exclaimed in a defeated sigh. There were no other words that could explain my emotions, at least none that I could say. Stiles barely reacted at my words, instead he just nodded his head in agreement. As silence fell over us I took a small sip of my coffee while staring off into nothingness. 

"I kind of hoped that you would know what to do. You always seem like someone with a plan", Stiles told me and I could see disappointment in his eyes, see how he was trying to hide it from me. I looked down at my hands, saw how they fiddled while resting on the table. I tried to search every inch of my brain for something we could do. I tried to find any solution that would bring Stiles some peace of mind.  

"Well... We obviously need to split up. Allison and her dad seem like they might be on Ms. Blake's tail. You could go there and see if they know anything about her. I could head to Derek's and see if there's something we could do to help Cora. We need all the people we could get and without Cora I don't think Derek will be up for helping out", I rambled quietly. It sounded stupid in my ears, too simple and too vague. It was something, but it didn't feel like something good. 

"Yeah, that works!" Stiles sounded so much more enthusiastic about my plan. As my eyes looked up and met his I saw just the smallest spark of hope in his eyes and just seeing that made a small smile reach my lips. Maybe I couldn't come up with a fool proof solution, but now we had a start. If we were lucky it would lead to so much more.

•••

My entire body was buzzing with anticipation as I stood outside of Derek's loft, waiting for the door in front of me to open. The sound of my foot tapping against the floor was the only thing reaching my ears, echoing softly on the concrete ground. Just as I raised my hand to knock once more, it slid open. I couldn't say I was happy to see Derek's uncle, Peter, standing there. 

"Why are you here?", he asked with annoyance lacing his voice. Without giving him any verbal answer I rolled my eyes and pushed my way past him. The sight of Cora laying in a bed with Derek sitting next to her, his hand in hers, met me. My stomach dropped slightly at her obviously bad state. I couldn't say that she was a goner, but it looked so bad I would almost go there. 

"Again, what are you doing here?", Peter's voice came from behind me as I felt his presence come closer. Instead of turning to him, giving him any attention, my eyes stayed glues to the two on the bed. 

"I'm here to help Cora. Have you guys come up with anything?" The question was mostly directed at Derek and as he finally looked up at me I could see that he clearly hadn't had an easy couple of hours.

"Yes, we have something", Derek answered and even though his answer was vague I could feel some relief reach me. Everything wasn't just going to shit, that was something. My more logical side seemed to warn me though, as there was clear cautiousness in Derek's voice and he didn't seem that open about talking about it.

"And... What is it?", I wondered, motioning with my hand for him to go on. Cora might have not been my sister, but I still felt stressed about saving her. The sooner the better and the more time we wasted talking, the closer she got to not making it. 

"A very bad idea", Peter scoffed as he walked past me and sat down on the couch. He seemed pretty sour about it and even though I knew that his mood probably had an explanation, I felt irritation flow through me at his words. Not only was he not being helpful, he was also being vague. Maybe it ran in the family...

"And why isn't it a good idea?", I wondered as I met Peter's glance, looking as if he wanted me to just disappear from the loft. He wasn't exactly in a position where he should refuse help, even if all I could do was make them make a damn decision. 

"Because, we don't know if it will work. Also, Derek will most definitely lose his alpha powers and we'll lose the only person who could possibly stand a chance against the alphas", Peter explained as if telling me this was the biggest inconvenience in his life. A frown fell over my forehead as I felt frustration build in me. As my hands covered my temples and I closed my eyes for a few seconds to calm down. 

"So, Derek will lose som power juice. I think the pros overweighs the cons in this instant, trust me on this." My voice calm, calmer than I had expected. Still the strain on my voice was evident, but who could blame me. Someone's life was on the line and they were bickering over losing powers!

"Did you miss the whole thing about him not being able to fight the alpa pack? He'll have zero chance and not even what little authority he had" The strain in Peter's voice was, alike mine, reaching it's breaking point. Not being able to hold myself back, I took a few steps towards him with my fist closed at my sides. 

"So what? He won't be able to tell other people what to do? I promise you, it's already not working from what I've seen. Also, did you miss the part about Cora dying?! If she survives she will be here with us and we'll have more than enough power to fight the alphas!" My voice had rose a little in volume, but as Derek cleared his throat I backed off a little. I wasn't exactly calm or anything, but I wanted to hear what Derek had to say. 

"I'm doing it", Derek stated calmly, ending whatever argument Peter and I had had. My eyes with Derek's and there were some form of mutual understanding going on between us. After all, he knew exactly why I had gotten so riled up over this. He knew that it hit dangerously close to home. It wasn't just that I wanted to help and be there for them. It wasn't just that I wanted to save Cora. 

If I had gotten the chance to save Jeremy, I would have given my own life to do so. 

•••

The cold glass of water did nothing to still my nerves. I could feel my entire body just buzzing with energy, nervous energy, that made it impossible for me to just be still. There was something about it that just stopped me from finding any type of calmness inside of me. 

There was at least some good news. Cora was alive and getting better. It had worked.

We were all pretty relieved, but at the same type I really felt some ugly memories resurfacing, the type of memories I had tried to repress. Just thinking about Jeremy not making it of that damn island. The thought of how I hadn't been able to do anything to save him or bring him back, was painful. With those thoughts came the reminder of my sister's breakdown and then the loneliness I felt afterwards. 

"You okay?" I had been too lost in my own thoughts to even hear someone enter the kitchen. I flinched at Derek's voice but quickly recovered and turned around. I could still see how exhausted he was, but of course he refused to just rest. 

"Yeah, I'm alright. I guess I'm just a little bit on edge", I explained with a sad smile. My answer didn't seem to satisfy him and he frowned at me with worry. I acted as if I couldn't see it and went to put the glass back in the sink.

"Don't lie", Derek sighed before sitting down on one of the barstools in the kitchen. I turned to watch as he lazily slid into the seat, my own worry for him taking over a little bit. He didn't look hurt or anything but I couldn't imagine saving his sister hadn't had any repercussions. 

Derek seemed to wait for me to say something but I didn't really know what to say, so the silence between stayed. Sure, I could've just left and pretended to not care for his words. I didn't want to do that though. It wouldn't be fair to Derek.

"I just wish there had been something I could've done for my brother. I would've done anything to bring him back and I hate that I didn't even have an option." The words just tumbled out of my mouth and I was actually a bit surprised at how honest I had decided on being. It felt strange saying the words out loud and I couldn't meet Derek's eyes, feeling way too vulnerable for my liking. The courage that had made me say those words had left the second I had finished my last sentence. 

With my eyes to the floor I couldn't see Derek get out of his chair, but I soon felt his arms sneak around my waist. His touch was comforting and without even thinking about it, I leaned into it. I took a deep breath, just trying to calm my nerves, finally feeling as if it was possible. 

"I know, but there just weren't anything to do." It wasn't exactly any words of comfort being offered, but I had to say I preferred this harsh truth over "it'll be okay" or "it'll get better." Maybe it was because he could relate to my feelings, or maybe he just knew how frustrating the constant reassurance became. I knew that I wasn't okay yet and I knew that I would probably feel differently tomorrow and the day after that may be completely different. For the moment, I would just relax in Derek's arms and let it calm me as much as it could. It was nice enough to almost make me forget how much it hurt. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!
> 
> So, guess who said this was going to get published last week but had to work this weekend and didn't get anything done.... Well, I finally finished this and I really hope you like it and that it was worth the wait! (There aren't many parts left now!!!)


	18. And So It Ends

"You can't stay here. If Kali is on her way, you need to leave." There was no point in trying to put it nicely. Derek, Cora, Peter and I were all sitting at Derek's loft while trying to figure out what to do since Derek had given up his powers. I might have realized what it actually meant that Derek wasn't an alpha anymore and well, I couldn't exactly say it was good. 

Something I had not thought of before was about how much weaker Derek would become as he lost his alpha powers. Not that I had any deeper knowledge of the fact and if I was honest, I hadn't thought there would be such a huge difference. I had been wrong. I was a big enough person to admit that to myself, but I wasn't going to mention it with Peter in the room.  

"She's right and you know it. The alpha's will kill you if they find you here", Cora said from her place on the sofa. Even though she had previously said that she felt like herself again I had a hard time believing her. Even if she hadn't been leaning so deeply into the sofa, I wouldn't have thought that she suddenly would have felt all energized again. It wasn't as if I was going to bring it up, though. Whatever reason she had for trying to hide it, was her business. 

"No matter how much I hate to say, I also have to agree. She hasn't exactly acted that smart but this is an exception", Peter agreed. His sly insult made me want to roll my eyes, but I would let it slide this once. I didn't have the time to focus on petty arguing. For every minute that passed, Kali got closer. 

"So, you are just going to decide-" Before Derek could finish his sentence he was interrupted by the door sliding open. The fact that we hadn't locked the door made me groan, and we were only lucky that the person stepping inside didn't turn out to want us any harm. 

"We need to talk", Lydia spoke in a rushed tone as she stepped into the loft, her eyes falling upon all of us. Next to her stood Ethan. I couldn't say I was happy about seeing him there, not even slightly. Still, I knew that I couldn't leave just because he was there. I needed to focus on the situation at hand, not my emotions. 

"About what?", I wondered as I straightened in my seat. My words made Lydia and Ethan look at each other, as if trying to determine who should talk. As I sighed at the dramatic pause that had built up, they quickly decided. 

"They're coming, Kali and my brother. Derek, if you want to survive you have to run." My first reaction was to look at Derek. Maybe our words hadn't persuaded Derek, but I couldn't imagine him taking a warning from Ethan lightly. If even one of the bad guys were worried about you, it might've been time to listen. 

"There's a lunar eclipse, they won't have their powers", Derek stated, speaking as if he wasn't bothered in the least about the situation. I didn't know whether to admire his level-headness or be bothered by it. Just because the alphas wouldn't have their powers, didn't make it safe. I knew that Derek wanted to act as if nothing could hurt him. He had proven to me though that, that wasn't exactly true. He wasn't invincible, no matter how much he wished that he was. 

"We know about the lunar eclipse. So don't think Kali's gonna sit around waiting for it to level the playing field. She's coming, and my brother's coming with her", Ethan argued. I had already tried to argue the same points earlier, I just hoped that Derek would listen this time. 

"Good enough for me. Derek?", Peter asked Derek and I turned to the man in question. Derek didn't seem to like the idea yet. However, that would change. I knew that he would have to see that we were right.

"You want me to run?", Derek wondered sourly. It wasn't like I expected anything except sourness from him. He was a fighter, of course he was. Still, I just felt like something terrible would happen if he stayed. It was like an obvious fact. 

"I feel like... I'm standing in a graveyard", Lydia suddenly spoke which immediately caught my attention. The fact that she said it made the situation even more serious. Sure, I could have a bad feeling about something but when a banshee said that something was going to turn into something terrible there was undeniable truth in the words.

"Derek stop looking like this is still a hard choice to make. If you stay, you'll die. Could you please listen to us this once. I know that it's your decision to make, but you can't just ignore all of these facts", I said, finally. The fact that Derek hadn't seemed convinced by Lydia's words had gotten to me. 

My eyes met Derek's silently. He was so hard to read in that moment and I didn't know what was going on in his mind. I tried to convey just how much I meant what I'd said. Hopefully he would actually listen and just, for once, think about his own well-being. 

"Okay, fine. I'll go."

•••

"Why do you look like you're trying to say something?", Derek wondered while we were walking towards his car. Cora had already left and was waiting inside the car. I had stayed behind and waited for Derek to bring the last bags. 

He hadn't been wrong with his observation. I did want to tell him something. Since he had started getting ready to leave, he had kind of acted as if I was going with them. I wasn't though. My life wasn't in immediate danger and I wasn't going to just leave because I had the option, not when I knew that I could do something to help in Beacon Hills. 

"I'm not going with you and Cora. I don't know, it seemed like you thought that, but I'm not. Stiles is picking me up after you leave and we're going to look for the parents", I explained, not looking up to meet his eyes. Sure, he shouldn't have been to upset. Neither should I. It's not like we had known each other for forever, no like we felt anything too strong for each other. Still, I would miss him. Out of all the people I had known throughout my life I just really felt like I connected with Derek. 

That wasn't as important as the feeling of needing to help. I had just stood on the sidelines for so long, unable to do anything to help. I hadn't ever gotten the chance to influence anything. Now I could, and I definitely wouldn't just run away now. 

"I'm guessing that there's no arguing on that. I mean, I've lost any argument I've had against you. Just, be careful and answer if I call. Okay?" His voice was gentle and I couldn't help but feel a smile pull at my lips. I was pleasantly surprised at how chill he was about it all. Mentally, I had just prepared to lay out a full on argumentative speech, but here he was just trusting me. It felt really fucking good. 

"Yes, of course! I promise I'll answer my phone if you can promise to not do anything stupid", I told him playfully and he chuckled as he shook his head. However, what he did next surprised me enough to lose my breath. In a sudden moment he grabbed me around the waist and brought his lips to mine. It was such a soft but nice kiss that I couldn't help but smile through it.

"I promise." Even though I had been joking with him earlier, it felt good to hear the reassurance. Before I could answer him or say anything else he had already turned around and was walking towards his car. My mind was still trying to catch up with was going on and when it did, Derek had already opened his car door. 

"Don't lose my number, okay?", I called out which earned me a quick smile before he got inside. Then I stood there and watched as they drove off. As the car left, I was left alone until Stiles got there. Hopefully he wouldn't take too long. It was late and cold. Standing outside couldn't exactly be described as pleasant. I just placed my hope in my friend, that he would get there before I either froze to death or was mauled down by some werewolf. 

•••

"I will kill you, slowly", I told Stiles as I hurried into his jeep. The weather had started acting up while I had waited and I was freezing. I could feel the icy air down to my fingertips, even as we started to drive off. Stiles had taken way longer than he had said it would take for him to get to me. To say that I was angry didn't even begin to cover it.

"Yeah yeah, whatever", Stiles dismissed me simply which caused me to huff. As soon as I had closed the door Stiles had started to drive. He was quick to steer the car towards the forest and I had no idea how he knew that we needed to go there but I trusted him.

"Okay, so how are the others doing?", I wondered, having not heard anything about them yet. All I knew was that they needed to find some tree stump that Lydia had been drawing constantly for a while. Apparently that was some sort of key to how we were going to find the parents. I didn't exactly understand it, but I had learned not to ask questions a long time ago.

"Well, after we kind of did the sacrifice thing we found out where we needed to go. I think that Scott and Isaac are going to Allison's to get more help. I'm not entirely sure though because I haven't heard from them in a while." Okay, so at least we knew where we were going. That was a start. However, something in that sentence sounded a little off to me.

"I'm not sure if I really want to know about the sacrifice you just mention, but I'm going to ask anyway. What did you do?" My tone was alike to one of  a tired mother talking to her child. Sacrifices never sounded good and whatever they had done would surely lead to consequences, if they hadn't already. I was just happy that Stiles hadn't mentioned actually sacrificing anyone's life. 

"We basically drowned and then Lydia, Isaac and Deaton had to be our connection to the living so that we could come back again. It wasn't that bad", Stiles told me and I debated whether to tell him that he was insane for thinking that it wasn't dangerous or if I should just shut up about it. I decided not to say anything because I doubted that he would actually listen to me and agree with my opinion. Also, we had more important things to talk about. 

"Okay, I'm still not convinced this was stupid but I'll let it go. More importantly, do you know exactly where we're going? Do you know where the parents are?", I asked to just clarify that we weren't just going on a blind goose chase where we might be successful. As the weather was getting worse by the second I didn't feel that great about driving around for too long. Not that I didn't trust Stiles' driving skills, I just didn't feel safe driving around regardless of who was behind the wheel. 

"I know where they are, don't worry. We just need to get there in time", Stiles told me while throwing a glance my way. That was his big mistake. Both of us were just looking away for a few seconds, just enough for shit to hit the fan. When we turned to look at the road again the sight of the car steering off the road hit us. We only had time to scream before the harsh jolt of the car crashing into a tree hit us. My head bumped against the dashboard harshly and in no seconds my eyes closed as I fell unconscious. 

•••

Surrounded by complete darkness, I opened my eyes. The rough pounding in my head as I blinked was the only thing that made me aware of the fact that I had even opened them. Since we had been in the middle of nowhere as we had crashed there wasn't even streetlights to light up the world around me.

"Stiles?", I let out in a croaky voice but silence was the only answer I received. My fingers reached up and I started to massage my temples as even the sound of my own voice was too loud and caused additional ache. It wasn't until the pain had dulled that I could straighten up in my seat. I could then finally get some fresh air into my lugns and I felt how it started to clear my head. 

The sound of a soft groan from beside me peaked my attention. I quickly put a hand on Stiles' shoulder to help him sit up in his seat. He looked better than I felt. It didn't seem as he had been as affected by the crash, but at the same time I didn't exactly know how I look. He did after all have a disoriented look on his face, one I imagined I had also had once I had woken up.

"Stiles, are you feeling okay?", I wonder, not exactly trusting only my eyes to determine whether he was alright or not. He blinked once, hard, and shook his head before looking at me, a newfound alertness in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, but how are you?", he asked and from the look in his eyes I guessed that I looked worse off than him. Still, I didn't feel like focusing to much on my aching head, especially since it was getting better. So, I just unfastened my seatbelt and gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's probably not as bad as it looks, I'm alright. Let's go and find your dad", I told him and with determined words I reminded Stiles of what we were even doing in the forest. As it dawned on him he quickly rushed out of the car and I was not far behind him. 

Not much later, we were struggling to make our way through the storm and making our way through the forest. Stiles had even brought his baseball bat, not that I could figure out what real protection it could bring us. According to him it was better than nothing and I couldn't argue with that, I really couldn't. 

 Fearing that we would maybe lose each other in the storm, or that one of us would fall, we leaned on each other for support while we walked. As I could basically hear my pulse in my ears as we walked, I figured it was for the best. I didn't know if it would all become too bad at any point. 

"Are we close?", I called out after we had been walking for some time. I had no real sense of time but I knew we had covered some distance at least. It wasn't exactly like we had parked the car where we wanted so I was also a little bit concerned about Stiles' not being able to find the path we needed to take. 

I got no answer to my question. Instead I only felt Stiles let go of me and saw him rush forward towards a huge tree-stump. With confusion surging through me I followed quickly, stumbling on the uneven ground. Before I had even gotten there, Stiles disappeared into a hole in the ground and I gasped in worry. As I finally reached the hole a breath of relief left my lips. 

"Oh thank God", I sighed as I saw all three parents down there, alive. Stiles was embracing his father tightly and I smiled at the sight. I also saw Isaac and Allison down there. I didn't exactly know why they were there, but they were. At that point I was too happy to ask any questions.

I still felt worried, because we didn't know if they would be alright. There wasn't much I could do, though. So, I sat down on the ground and waited with the others until the storm blew by. It couldn't have been that long until it happened. And as the wind slowed I felt some sort of calmness fill me. Something told me that everything was finally alright. 

•••

The door was open when I got there. I felt strange walking back to Derek's loft after everything had happened. My entire body was still buzzing with adrenaline and I couldn't help but feel as if I would have to fend for my life once more. My head was still aching from the crash and if I was honest, all I wanted to do in that second was lay down and take a long nap. I knew I had other things to do though. 

**'Come to my loft'**

The text had appeared just as I had gotten back to the Argents' apartment. Allison hadn't been home yet, neither had Chris. Stiles had just dropped me off on the way to the hospital. Being held for future human sacrifice couldn't exactly be good for the health and they were headed to Deaton's place to make sure that all of the parents were alright. 

"Derek, are you in here?", I called out as I stepped inside the loft. Apparently he hadn't left, like he had said he would. For some reason he had come back. I couldn't help but feel a little sour about it, a little bitter about him breaking his promise. If he was back again it must have been because of something stupid. I just knew it.

"Yeah, I'm over here." I walked towards the voice and found Derek in his kitchen, leaning against the countertop. As I came inside the kitchen he put down the phone he had held in his hand and smiled up at me. 

"What are you doing here? I thought you left", I voiced my thoughts, unable to hide the slight accusatory tone in my voice. However, there was no guilt in his face as he rolled his eyes and met me halfway. 

"Why do you have a packed bag?", he wondered instead of answering me, motioning towards the duffelbag I had swung over my shoulder. I scratched the back of my neck a little awkwardly as I tried to find the easiest explanation as to why I had a bad packed for meeting Derek. 

"Okay... So, I don't know if there is still a possibility of... Of going with you. I just thought that if it is, I might come prepared with a packed bag", I mumbled as I looked towards my feet. Yeah, I might've been a very indecisive person. It was just that... I had gotten a call earlier that might have influenced me slightly to change my mind. 

 

_"Klaus, what's up? You usually don't call me", I spoke into the phone as I made my way upstairs to the apartment. It was eerily silent and I was quite happy that my phone had gone off just as I had stepped into the building._

_"Well, I might have had a feeling that someone might need some advice." I didn't exactly believe that it was the only reason why Klaus had decided to call me, but I couldn't help to drop it when I actually felt in need on some advice after the night I'd had._

_"So, let's pretend a guy you're kind of into wanted you to go with him to an unknown destination, would you do it?", I asked as I climbed the stairs. A small chuckle fell from Klaus' lips and I couldn't help but blush a little at how strange the whole thing sounded._

_"Okay, so I need some more information here. Is there something between you and this guy? Is this unknown destination possibly somewhere where he could hurt you? Why would you go?" I laughed a little and tried to find the best way to explain my situation._

_"There might be something, I mean we've kissed a few times and I feel like we really connect in a way I've never connected with other people. This destination is probably just like another town or something. I don't exactly know. And well... I just... I know  that I can do something when I'm here in Beacon Hills to help but at the same time... I don't know if I really feel like that's fulfilling. Do you know what I mean?" I wasn't exactly the best at explaining my emotions but it just felt as if I couldn't express them in any way that actually made sense._

_"Sometimes I really forget about how little you have experienced, Hannah. This sounds like a relatively simple decision if you ask me. You're young, Hannah, and you are trying to find a place where you belong. It is alright if this town was a hit and a miss. There is nothing stopping you from trying something else."_

_"Fuck, Klaus. You really need to stop being so good at giving advice. Like, what would I do if I couldn't talk to you whenever I was in a shit situation?", I laughed lightly. To be honest, Klaus had just said what I needed to hear in that moment. For some reason I really needed someone to tell me that I didn't need to stay just because that was what I previously had thought that I needed._

_"Love, just stop playing normal. Both of us know that you aren't so you do not need to pretend." Just as the words left Klaus' mouth I felt my phone vibrate, signaling that I got a message._

_"Thank you, Klaus. Really. I gotta go though, so I'll talk to you later."_

"You really want to come with me?", Derek asked in surprise. He seemed happy though and I couldn't help but feel slight relief. I would've been lying if I hadn't admitted that I was worried that he wouldn't want me with him anymore. 

"Yeah, I really think it would be the best thing for me", I told him, smiling as I stepped closer to him. There seemed to be a smile fighting it's way upon Derek's face too, but it wasn't quite there yet. 

"Are you sure? If you don't want to, I don't want to pressure you", he told me with firmness and I couldn't help but chuckle slightly as I swung my hands around his neck and pecked his lips. 

"I thought we had established that I never do anything I don't want to do." Derek joined in with a small chuckle before leaning in and softly pushing his lips against mine. As we pulled apart to catch our breaths from the slow and soft kiss I couldn't help but smile, and neither could Derek. Damn, seeing him smiling was really something else. Every single time he did it I just felt my heart melting and it just filled me with this warm emotion that I couldn't put a name on. 

Later on I left with Derek. This time, I called Allison and I explained that I was leaving. She told me that it was alright and that she had only wished that she had been able to say goodbye in person. I called Stiles and said bye. I called Scott. It was different than from when I had left Mystic Falls. It felt better. 

So, I hadn't exactly known what I wanted when I left Mystic Falls. I had known that my life wasn't what I wanted it to be and I had tried to change, I _had_ changed it. Some things were definitely better in Beacon Hills, but it wasn't home. It wasn't what I was looking for. 

Klaus had told me to "stop playing normal." I hadn't even gotten the chance in Beacon Hills, but I longer wanted that. To be honest, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I just knew that at the moment it felt right to leave with Derek. I didn't know if I would feel the same in a month, but I had the time to change my mind if I felt like it. One thing I could say was that I was looking for what I wanted and maybe I would find it with Derek. Maybe I wouldn't. 

In the car, on our way out of town I thought back to just before I had left Mystic Falls. The things that had hurt so immensely still ached, but it was manageable. I no longer felt that I was at the bottom. Breathing didn't hurt anymore. And maybe I hadn't found what I wanted, but I knew that would have the chance to do so in the future. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!   
> So it's been over a month since I updated and here is the last part!!! I know that some of you wanted me to continue this but I don't think I'll be able to so I chose to end it here :( Like, I think updates would come like once every other month and I don't think it would be that great BUT I hope that you'll like the ending and that you all enjoyed the story! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING IT AND FOR LEAVING KUDOS AND COMMENTS!!! THANK YOU!! 
> 
> If you haven't checked out my tumblr you can find me at: @imaginesoneshots 
> 
> xxxx

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I wrote this about a year ago and I feel like this might not be that good. I've tried to read through it and fix the bad parts but please leave a comment and tell me what you think!
> 
> Also, this story is set during The Vampire Diaries season 4 and Teen Wolf season 3. And yes, I know that they occur during different seasons of the year but let's just pretend that they don't :) 
> 
> Also also, this story is also on wattpad just to be clear so there is no confusion about that :)
> 
> Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> xx Sofija


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